XMEN: Resurgence
by Scott Summers
Summary: **COMPLETED** Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men never reformed. Mutants are outlaws in America after Tony Stark moved for Mutant Registration. Things can only get worse. **SEQUEL NOW UP: XMEN: EMERGENCE**
1. contact

**

* * *

**

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. Seven remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do?_

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE**  
_chapter one: contact_

_

* * *

_**S.H.I.E.L.D. HEADQUARTERS**

"I'm sorry, Agent," Carol Danvers began as she led the new agent trailing behind her down the hallway to the briefing room, "I don't remember your name."

"Adler," the woman replied. "No need to apologize, ma'am."

"Call me Carol," Ms. Marvel replied with a smile. Holding cells lined the hall, various prisoners of Tony Stark's war laid about lifelessly within them. Agent Adler stopped at one of the cells, running her hand over the nameplate which ran beneath the window.

**XO548NMOA  
"DRAKE"**

"Agent."

Robert Drake, a collar around his neck and shackles around his wrists and ankles, sat huddled in a corner -- battered and defeated.

"_Agent_."

Agent Adler turned, making eye contact with the prisoner for only a moment. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Carol. Just not... used to all this quite yet."

"It _is _early on in your career here to put you on the Mutant Task Force," Carol noted. "If you'd like I can see about a new assignment."

"No," Adler replied. "This is fine... I'm just ironing a few things out."

"It takes some getting used to," Danvers said more to herself than to the rookie agent who'd picked up the pace again. She followed Danvers down another hallway, finally watching as a scanner ran itself over Carol's eyes, verifying her identity and releasing the lock on the door.

"Welcome to the briefing room," Ms. Marvel began, taking a seat and notioning for Agent Adler to do the same. "Let's get you caught up."

A screen lowered from above, the two women watching as an image of Tony Stark appeared on it.

"The Mutant Task Force began nearly ten years ago," the image began, "after the death of known mutant Charles Francis Xavier. Mutants, born with the X-Factor gene, are gifted with a range of abilities; abilities similar in nature to super-powered beings forced to register in the so-called Registration War."

Danvers winced.

"Those beings who did not register were forbeyed from use of their abilities -- and if they chose to use them were labeled as criminal. Those with superhuman abilities have a responsibility -- to the government, to the people, and to themselves: to register. Why would mutantkind be regarded as any different?

Some mutants were not keen to register -- it was called a violation of rights. But not every mutant was to register, only those actively participating in using their so-called 'powers' in organized groups such as the X-Men or X-Factor. They were no less of a danger than a rogue superhero; those with superhuman abilities must be trained; must be able to be held accountable for their actions."

Nearly an hour later the screen rose into its resting place. Carol sat forward for a moment, silent, until turning to face Agent Adler. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for my briefing."

"Let me ask you again, Mystique."

Adler's eyes narrowed. "It's been too long, Carol. I thought it was time for a visit."

"Can't say that I've missed you. I thought you were smarter than this... smarter than just showing up on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellcarrier, thousands of feet in the air, without any hope for escape when we take you down."

"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to deliver a message."

Ms. Marvel stood. "You're under arrest."

"Hank McCoy."

"What?"

"The Beast."

"I know who Hank McCoy..."

"He needs to see you. Westchester. I'm going to leave, Carol, and you aren't going to stop me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You owe him."

"How do I even know he sent you?"

"You _know_, Carol. They never found a body -- and the only reason they didn't find yours was that he got you out of Stark Tower before it went down."

"The old Institute. Tomorrow, seven pm. Come alone."

Agent Adler's form began to shift -- Mystique contorting her body into another nameless agent. "This is bigger than you can imagine."

* * *

Carol Danvers pulled her hood back, her blonde hair falling loosely over her masked eyes. She took only five steps into what was left of the War Room of the Xavier Institute before feeling the gun at the back of her head.

"You alone?"

"As requested," she replied coolly. "I could have already had the gun out of your hand, Gambit. Let that be your warning."

"I trust her," Henry McCoy spoke up from the darkness -- flipping down from the ceiling and landing in front of Danvers. "Put the gun down, Gambit."

Remy pulled the gun back, sliding it into a holster on his waist. "No hard feelin's, Chere."

"Some," Marvel replied. "Speak fast, Hank. I don't have much time."

"We need to get to Wakanda."

Danvers laughed. "In case you've forgotten, Hank -- other than the fact that you're both fugitives running from the government -- the United States and Wakanda are on the brink of _war_."

"We just need a plane," Gambit chimed in from behind her.

"Oh, no problem then," Carol laughed again. "I'll just borrow one from Tony and fly you to Wakanda myself... since I'm licensed and head of a S.H.I.E.L.D. division. I'm sure he wouldn't wonder why I was flying to Wakanda... and hell, I'm sure Storm wouldn't shoot a United States aircraft down without any hesitation."

"Dis is useless, Beast," Gambit turned, leaving the two alone in the dimly-lit room.

"Hank," Danvers lowered her voice, "come with me. Just register. I can probably get you an immunity... they'll go easy on you, you were an Avenger once."

"And an X-Man first," Hank replied. "I won't turn my back on them."

"I'm not asking you to -- maybe they'll follow your example..."

"...and as I recall, Carol, T'Challa was an Avenger once too."

"What happened with him was an accident, this whole thing--"

"--The Black Panther is dead, Carol, and at the hands of _your boss_. An accident."

"Hank."

"Aren't you tired of making excuses for Tony Stark, Carol?"

"It isn't like that..."

"When was the last time you felt like you were doing the right thing?"

"I'm always doing the right thing."

"Then why are you here?"

Ms. Marvel sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"To get you to Wakanda."

* * *

**WAKANDA**

The doors to the throne room hissed open, Queen Ororo standing at the sudden change in silence. Her gown was full, a soft pink; her headress lined with various jewels native to only the country she now ruled alone after the death of her husband.

"What is it, my friend?"

Her chief of security took a small bow. "I must insist you leave, my Queen. There has been a breach in security."

"Do not treat me as if I am helpless, N'jari."

"Never," he replied -- pulling a small gun from a pouch which hung at his side. "I only wish to talk."

"With a gun?" Ororo walked forward.

"Stop where you are, _Storm_."

Munroe paused. She had not been called Storm for nearly ten years.

"What is this?"

Without hesitation, a burst of wind flew forward, N'jari slamming into the wall behind him. Lightning flew into the ventilation ducts overhead nearly a second later, the metal casing giving way for a man to fall at Ororo's feet.

"Gambit?!"

"Gettin' rusty, non?"

"I heard you even before I realized N'jari was in fact Mystique," Munroe replied.

Remy LeBeau gathered his senses, pulling himself to his feet. N'jari stood from across the room, shifting into his true form -- that of Raven Darkholme.

"Have you harmed any of the guard?"

"No," LeBeau replied.

"What business do you have in Wakanda?"

"We need your help," Raven answered for Gambit -- taking a few steps toward Munroe, who'd already raised her hand toward Darkholme, ready to strike.

"We couldn' just waltz in here, Stormy."

"I will ask you once more, Remy, if only out of respect.

What business do you have in Wakanda?"

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY**

Ororo Munroe took a seat next to Susan Richards. "It's good to see you, old friend."

"And you, Ororo, though I wish the situation were a little less tense. You aren't safe here."

"I am safest in your home, Susan," Munroe replied. "I believe that."

"God, if Reed knew you were here," The Invisible Woman smiled softly to herself.

"He is missed," Storm spoke solemnly.

"T'Challa, too."

The two women sat in silence for a moment -- it had been several years since their husbands had been killed together; several years since Storm had even _been _to the United States, let alone seen her friend. The Invisible Woman had agreed to move Wakanda's embassy into the Baxter Building as a favor to Ororo; it wasn't safe anywhere else, not in the time of war.

"Tony didn't take all of this lightly, you know," Sue spoke up. "My public image has gone to hell."

"And what of his?"

The two women laughed.

"Why are you here, Ororo?"

Munroe cleared her throat. "I need your help. Telecommunications to Wakanda are monitored by every faction of the government. The United States is no longer a safe place for mutantkind."

Sue sat back in her chair. "You do remember Magneto's Genosha."

"I want to settle this," Ororo replied. "To end this before war can begin. And if I can help my friends in the process..."

"That's noble. But what does it have to do with me?"

"I cannot be seen here," Storm replied. "Stark already believes I am on U.S. soil, there is no doubt of that. I need your help in retrieving the Xavier Protocols."

"Ororo, I have children.."

"I ask only that you allow me to run my organization through your home, Susan; a request I do not make lightly, nor pretend to."

Susan bit her lip.

"It's your embassy, Ororo. I wouldn't dream of stopping you."

* * *

"It was good of you to come to me, Carol," Tony Stark said softly. "Assemble a team."

* * *

**NEXT**: Tony Stark pays a visit to The Baxter Building... oh, and maybe some mutant mayhem!


	2. i'll be watching

**

* * *

**

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter two: i'll be watching**

* * *

** _

**TWO YEARS AGO, NEW YORK CITY**

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!" Peter Parker, better known to most as Spider-Man, howled as he swung in from the sky -- balls of webbing slamming into Wonder Man.

"When I see somebody," Simon replied, hurling a car at Spider-Man, who'd since regrouped on the ground.

Ms. Marvel landed in front of Parker, the car sending her backward into the building. When the dust settled, she stood -- barely a scratch to the car or the building. "We're supposed to minimalize property damage, Wonder Man!"

"And here I thought you just cared," Spider-Man smiled underneath his mask.

"Thanks for the assist, Spider-Man," Robert Drake appeared, effortlessly sliding down some ice and picking up Surge, former leader of the New X-Men. "Nori??"

No response.

Wonder Man landed next to the three, Spider-Man and Drake, holding Surge, standing back-to-back. Williams stared down Drake, Ms. Marvel approaching Parker from the other side. "We don't want any trouble."

"Looks like it," Iceman replied. "She's barely breathing."

"The sooner you let us take you in, the sooner we can get her the medical assistance she needs," Ms. Marvel spoke up, the two closing in on the trio of unregistered heroes.

"I'm sure that's been your primary concern," Hank McCoy spoke, entering the scene from a nearby alley.

"Hank?" Wonder Man turned. It was like he'd seen a ghost.

"Focus, Simon," Marvel spoke next. "Listen, there are four squads of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on their way. You don't want to involve them."

"You're right," Spider-Man answered, bringing his hands together and releasing pounds of webbing directly at Ms. Marvel. Danvers reacted instantly, slicing into the air only to be pounced on by the Beast.

"Hello Carol," Hank quipped, the two falling to the ground.

Wonder Man flew toward his old friend and partner, the Beast backhanding him just as he arrived. "Bobby! Get Nori _out of here_!"

Beast could offer no more orders, flying through the air under the assault of Ms. Marvel. He slammed into a hot dog stand, various meat products and buns scattering.

"No time for a joke about that, I guess," Spider-Man offered as he leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding Wonder Man's grasp. Stationary on the building behind him, webbing shot from each wrist and wrapped around Surge. "I've got her!"

Drake let go, Surge flying toward Spider-Man. He wrapped one arm around her and shot a webline off into the distance.

"Stand down, Hank," Wonder Man spoke slowly as Beast stumbled up.

"Simon, honestly," McCoy replied.

"Yeah, Simon... stand down!"

Wonder Man turned, Iceman grinning from behind him. McCoy filpped through the air, his feet slamming into a fire hydrant beside them -- water shot upward, Bobby concentrating to create various frozen projectiles. Wonder Man scattered under the assault, Hank flipping onto the ice slide Bobby had already begun and wrapping his arms around his friend's waist.

"I gave Spider-Man the coordinates," Hank began, "we'll need to hurry if I'm going to help Nori."

"Not a problem, boss man," Iceman said with a grin -- ice pouring from his fingertips to create the slide below them. Moments later, however, Ms. Marvel plowed into it from underneath, their ride home crumbling. The two former X-Men fell through the air, now several hundred feet up. Danvers grabbed Drake by the neck -- Bobby's icy exterior returning to skin instantly. She pinned his arms behind his back, watching as Hank McCoy flew toward the ground and smiling as Wonder Man caught him.

"It isn't worth it, Hank," Simon assured his friend. The two flew higher and higher into the air, Hank's arms pinned behind his back in a similar fashion to Drake's.

"A power neutralizer?"

"Iron Man redesigned it," Wonder Man offered as the two flew next to Ms. Marvel and Iceman.

"I only had one," Ms. Marvel yelled to Simon. But it wasn't Simon who replied -- instead, it was Beast.

"I was aware!" he howled, his hind legs wrapping around Wonder Man's waist; Hank flipped upward and landed on Simon's back. The two hurled downward, crashlanding onto Stark Tower. As they struggled to regain their wits, Hank's fist slammed into Simon's face -- the Avenger falling to the ground. "Stay down, Simon. For the love of God."

Danvers landed on the rooftop. "This is over, Hank!"

"Bobby."

Drake pulled a small detonator from his pocket.

"Right where we wanted you."

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING, WAKANDA'S EMBASSY**

"What are you doing here, Storm?"

"I could ask you the same question, Iron Man."

"Subpoena. It's perfectly legal that I'm here."

Storm stared at her reflection in Stark's mask. The two stood face to helmet in the middle of the Wakandan Embassy as they sized one another up. "Business."

"I know you're harboring fugitives," Stark stated plainly. "This isn't about Wakanda. Not yet. Don't make it about your country."

"Look around," Ororo notioned with her hands. They were alone. "There is no one here."

"Henry McCoy is a terrorist," Iron Man glared.

"I've heard the same of you," she replied, standing her ground. "If you've no business in my embassy, Stark, I suggest you make your leave."

"Seventeen hours ago a S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft left Wakanda. You were on that aircraft. There were three others -- Raven Darkholme, Remy LeBeau and Carol Danvers."

"Danvers is one of yours, Stark. That hardly makes sense."

"Nor does one of my aircraft being on Wakandan soil."

"Even less sense," Storm challenged, "is why you are still here."

Stark surveyed the room, his readings confirming they were alone. He turned, opening the door. "I'll be watching, Storm."

"I'd have it no other way."

* * *

"I don' trust her," Remy LeBeau said more to himself than to Mystique or Beast. Raven sat across from him at the small, rectangular table in the sub-basement of the Baxter Building; her eyes never leaving the knife Gambit was twirling on the tip of his finger.

"We'd have never made contact with Ororo if it weren't for Carol, Remy," Hank replied. "I don't like it either, but she's helped us nonetheless." McCoy sat at the head of the table, tapping away on a laptop.

"She's already gone to Stark," Raven spoke up.

"We don't know that," McCoy said softly. He was trying to convince himself.

"If you say so, Mon Ami," Gambit stood as a smile washed over Beast's face.

"I've done it," he continued to grin. "I've broken into the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe."

"So they should be here any second, then," Raven quipped. "This is insane. Why are we still here?"

"I've tinkered with Carol's codes; if anything, they'll think it's her."

"Unless she's sittin' in a room wit dem," Gambit said as he paced the length of the tiny, barren and metallic room. "I don' like it."

"Ever the optimist," Hank said aloud as he muttered various S.H.I.E.L.D. findings to himself. The doors whizzed open to their left, Sue Richards and Ororo entering the room.

"He's gone," Richards said as she took a seat next to Hank. "But he'll 'be watching.'"

"But of course," Hank replied.

"Any progress, Henry?" Storm asked as she took a seat of her own, grabbing Gambit's wrist and pulling him back into his own seat.

"Was there ever any doubt?" he asked with another grin. "I have three locations."

"...'but it's not going to be easy' an' all dat, right?"

* * *

"I'm afraid not," a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent nodded to Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk.

Walters sighed, taking the bag from the agent's hand. "I'm so sick of ham and cheese."

"They told me they'd be having turkey on Tuesday," the agent reported. "If that makes you feel any better."

Walters brought her free hand down on the agent's shoulder. "A little. You've done well, Agent."

He smiled, returning to his post. "_Five years of college, three years of training... all for this_," he thought to himself.

"You want half?" She-Hulk, now alone, asked the door she'd been standing in front of.

Walters sighed -- her only answer a non-responsive nameplate.

**XO647NPOC  
"MARKO"

* * *

**

"The Xavier Protocols," Hank Pym read aloud to himself. "Fascinating."

"Have you been able to decipher any of them?" Tony Stark asked as he entered the room. "We may be needing more access to them sooner than I'd hoped. Storm's landed."

"Have you ever read Shi'Ar before, Tony? I'm trying."

"Try harder, Hank."

* * *

"I'm doing the best I can," Danvers sighed.

"Well it ain't enough," Rogue replied. "Ah told ya ah'd register, Carol."

The sheet of glass between the two women was thick -- but Ms. Marvel couldn't help but feel it wasn't thick enough. After all the women had been through, she wasn't thrilled she'd been sanctioned to deal with the mutant in front of her.

"After what happened, Rogue," Danvers began, "they're not as eager to strike a deal with you as I'd hoped."

The collar around Rogue's neck flashed; the red beeping was nearly intoxicating to Danvers. All that held Rogue's powers, _her _powers, at bay was a tiny little collar.

Rogue sighed, her palm slamming into the glass as she turned her back to Danvers. "You told me you'd help me."

"I told you I'd do my best."

"Then do it... or your little secret's out, Carol. Ah'll talk."

* * *

"It's settled, then," Storm nodded. "Sue will be going after the Protocols. Gambit and Mystique are going after The Juggernaut -- and Henry is going after Rogue."

"No way," Gambit stood again.

"You didn't honestly think either of us would go after Rogue, Gambit."

"Didn' ask you, Raven."

"An' since when is Ms. Registered here in on dis?"

"Since you've been staying in my home," Sue replied. "And I have unfinished business with Pym."

"Susan is risking her neck for all of us," Storm began, "a little respect would be appreciated, Gambit. And in the event they've deciphered more of the Protocols, I'm not going to send a mutant after them."

"They're being housed on The Initiative's base," Hank noted. "It will be much easier for a registered hero to go after them."

"My affiliation with Wakanda aside."

"As for Rogue, Gambit," Storm began, "your personal feelings would endanger the mission."

"How new to this, exactly, are you?" Raven added.

"Raven's already established an identity on the Hellcarrier holding Juggernaut; and as a member of the Mutant Task Force, she'll be escorting her latest catch to be processed."

"If you're worried it may look fishy, Gambit,' Hank noted, "she'll be escorting you to her superior -- the ever-so-trusted Carol Danvers. She's waiting as we speak."

"I saw dat in a movie once," Gambit raised an eyebrow. "It never ends well."

Storm looked to LeBeau once more. "Your skills will come in handy, Gambit. And _nothing_ ends well -- we're the X-Men."

"Are we?" Hank smiled.

"Close enough," The Invisible Woman grinned.

* * *

Agent Adler looked to her right as the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet rocketed into the air. Remy LeBeau sat, shackled and collared, looking less than amused. "I don' like dis."

"So you keep telling me," Adler spoke with Mystique's voice. "Danvers is meeting us as soon as we land -- we won't have to deal with many others."

"Non?" Gambit asked, looking ahead at the Hellcarrier.

Iron Man's voice boomed as he hovered between the tiny aircraft and their destination.

"Land immediately, Agent.

WE NEED TO TALK."

* * *

**NEXT:** What exactly happened to T'Challa and Mr. Fantastic? Could it be related to Sue Storm's unfinished business with Pym? Hank goes after Rogue -- but Mystique and Gambit have to deal with a mission _gone_ rogue! Thanks for the reviews; they keep it coming! (Oh... and a special appearance by... well, you'll see!)


	3. ham and cheese

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter three: ham and cheese

* * *

_Sue Richards took a deep breath as she read the sign above her. 

**WELCOME TO CAMP HAMMOND, est. 2007**

She took another breath as various security measures were taken to confirm her identity -- retinal scans, fingerprints, all done by a series of computer programs and robots conceived of by none other than her late husband in conjunction with Tony Stark and Hank Pym.

"Identification verified," a computer voice called as she walked through the final metal detector. "Welcome to Camp Hammond, Mrs. Richards."

Sue nodded as she approached Vance Astrovik, former Avenger and one of the founding staff of Camp Hammond. "They have you offering up these tours now, Vance?"

"It's off-season," Astrovik smiled. "We have some new recruits coming in a few weeks. Not many students for me to counsel at the moment. How's Ben?"

The two began walking down a narrow hallway, Sue could hear a few training sessions behind closed doors. "I haven't seen him in a few years, actually. We talk now and then. He took Reed's death very hard."

"Understandably," Vance nodded.

"Is Tony on the base today?"

* * *

"Land your vessel immediately," Iron Man's voice boomed. 

"T'ings are gonna get real rocky," Gambit said, sliding a knife from his trench coat into his hand.

"You have no idea," Mystique said as she shifted into Carol Danvers while effortlessly slamming a syringe into Gambit's thigh.

Gambit jolted forward as Darkholme filled his bloodstream with the contents of the syringe but had no time to react, falling forward lifelessly.

* * *

"I'm not sure where he is, honestly," Astrovik replied as he slid his key card through a reader -- the two moving into another room with another barren hallway.

"That's a shame," Sue forced, her thoughts turning to the other teams, hoping Mystique could handle Stark and get out of the Hellcarrier successfully.

"Doctor Pym is here today," Vance offered. "I think he'd be more apt to fill you in on the financial issues I'm sure you're here to talk about."

"I'm not here as an Investor today," she forced another smile, her eye catching his raised eyebrow. Her husband had donated quite a large sum of money to the camp, optimistic about its potential. Sue hadn't felt the same -- but it had fallen to her after his death. "I would like to see Hank, though. It's been a long time."

* * *

"Too long," Iron Man said as he helped 'Carol Danvers' out of her jet. "I was beginning to think you'd failed -- you should have contacted me."

"My radio was damaged by LeBeau," she replied, throwing him over her shoulder and trying not to wince. "The Beast escaped."

"We'll find him," Stark replied. "Take Gambit to processing. He may be useful in locating the other mutants."

"Not a problem."

"Sir!"

Iron Man and Ms. Marvel turned at the sound of approaching S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, the two now secure in the Hangar. "What is it?" they asked in unison, Marvel a bit more anxious than Stark.

"There's been an unidentified landing on the other side of the Hellcarrier -- it looks like an old Quinjet model."

"How?"

"I don't know, sir."

"What's your name, Agent?"

"Adler, sir," the woman replied, exchanging glances with Ms. Marvel.

"She's on the Task Force," Danvers looked to Tony. "I've been training her for a few weeks now."

Stark said nothing.

"What is it?"

Stark's eyes ran over the computer screen in front of them -- mutant residual readings were being detected. His eyes darted to the unconscious LeBeau and he sighed. "Nothing. Just can't seem to get my head on straight today. Thank you, Adler. Assist Ms. Marvel in getting our prisoner here into questioning."

Adler nodded.

* * *

**TEN MINUTES AGO**

"You're certain this is going to work, Carol?" Henry McCoy asked a bit more nervously than he'd have liked to admit.

"You ask me now?" Danvers mused as she finished landing the old Quinjet.

"It's been some time since Stark couldn't detect a mutant using a simple image inducer."

"Trust me, Hank."

"I do, Carol," he replied, a moment of silence following. "I should, right?"

Danver shot him a look, activating the image inducer she held in her own hand. Hank did the same in unison -- Danvers shifting into the form of Agent Adler, Mystique's guise on the Hellcarrier; Hank into another nameless S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent.

"'Ms. Marvel' should be landing with Gambit now," 'Adler' spoke. "I told Tony I was going after your team -- he should be intercepting them as we speak."

"Then our time together is at an end," the nameless agent replied -- the two exiting the Quinjet and heading out.

"Hank?"

McCoy turned.

"Bring her a turkey sandwich."

* * *

The Invisible Woman smiled as she entered Hank Pym's lab. "It's good to see you, Hank."

Pym sat on a computer in the center of his sanctuary, standing at the sudden intrusion. "Susan..."

The former Avenger's eyes went wide, Pym gasping for air.

"Where are they."

He reached for his throat, his hands slamming into an invisible force field. He coughed uncontrollably, his eyes growing bloodshot. Pym fell to his knees, Susan releasing the force field.

"Stupid move," Pym said lowly, immediately lunging at the Invisible Woman. He fell short, slamming into air right before her and flying back to the ground, eye level with her black heels. He attempted to move his arms -- finding two cuffs of invisible energy surrounding them and fastening him safely to the floor.

"Was it?"

* * *

**YEARS AGO**

"You're making a mistake," Mr. Fantastic smiled at Pym from his computer. "If you would ever take the time to re-evaluate your plans, old friend, you'd be able to see it."

"These codes, Reed," Hank replied, "I've never seen anything like them."

"The Shi'Ar are a fascinating race, years ahead of our own," Reed said, his face growing closer to the computer screen as his neck elongated. "It's a shame we don't have Hank McCoy's input."

"I doubt he'd be helpful in unencrypting the Xavier Protocols."

"No, I would presume not," Richards sighed. "Tell me, Hank..."

* * *

"...do you really think you're doing the right thing?" Susan asked, slamming her heel into the restrained Pym.

"Do _you_?" Pym wheezed. "You can't get out of here."

"Then we have something in common," Sue barked.

* * *

"I think we've almost got it."

"Attention Camp Hammond Personel," a female voice erupted from the P.A. system, "we have an intruder. I repeat, we have an intruder."

The door to their left slid open, The Black Panther flipping into the room and hurling himself into Pym. The two men crashed into a table, shards of wood and test tubes flying into the air.

"Stay down," T'Challa said simply, glaring at Pym. He turned to Reed. "I want the Protocols."

"T'Challa, you're being ridiculous," Reed stood slowly. His eyes on Mr. Fantastic, T'Challa lunged forward as Pym grabbed his foot.

"Reed, get them out of here! Now!"

The Black Panther pulled himself back up, tackling Pym who'd already begun running toward the door. Mr. Fantastic hurled himself toward T'Challa, wrapping his own waist around the King of Wakanda's several times over until his face met his friend's. The Panther's fists at his sides, he could do nothing but look the man in the eye. He struggled against Reed's might for a moment.

"We're not doing this to harm Ororo," Reed spoke. "You aren't thinking clearly, T'Challa. You aren't thinking logically."

"Life is not all logic, Reed," he replied. "Something my wife taught me. You're both very intelligent men. I do not believe you stupid enough to do _anything _to harm her."

"Then what is this all about?" Pym turned, glaring at the restrained King.

"You would not do a thing to harm Ororo, no," T'Challa glared back, "not directly. Stark targeted heroes who would not register. You followed him. Now he targets mutants. You follow him. The Xavier Protocols are dangerous, Pym. Imagine Susan, Reed... imagine Ben. Johnny. If there were Protocols set up for the _destruction _of those who've encountered the cosmic radiation which--"

"--I understand, T'Challa. I do. But we aren't opening them to bring about the destruction of mutantkind. Tell him, Hank."

Pym said nothing.

"Hank?" Reed turned. "Tell him."

"You have _nothing _to say?"

* * *

"Not to you," Pym replied, struggling against his invisible restraints. "What's gotten into you?"

"Where are the Protocols?"

Hank inadvertantly gazed to his right, Susan's eyes following his own. She moved quickly, entering her various access codes until hitting a roadblock of her own.

"You can't go any further. You aren't authorized -- you're just an investor."

"Give me your access code."

"Susan, you're not thinking clear--huk!" Pym gasped for air.

"There's a tiny force field blocking your wind pipe, Hank. You won't have long."

She released it.

"You're insa--"

It reformed. Pym gasped again, his eyes bloodshot. His hands darted around, still restrained by the invisible cuffs and unable to reach his throat.

She released it.

"Janet..." he coughed.

"Janet?"

Susan turned away from the computer screen, shocked that his access code was still his ex-wife's name. She was even more shocked when a blast of energy slammed into her chest, sending her flying into the computer behind her -- the desk splintering and the terminal slamming to the ground beside her.

"He was saying hello, Sue," Janet Van Dyne stared down at her old friend. "Awfully rude of you _not _to."

* * *

"That isn't the immediate goal."

Reed slowly unwrapped himself from The Black Panther, standing beside the man. "This is insane."

"Reed, they're a threat. All of them."

"All of them? You've worked beside them! Hundreds of times!"

"And look what happened with Wanda!"

"Look what _did _happen with Wanda!" Reed felt his stomach turn. He barely recognized his associate. "She nearly eradicated them -- wiped her _own kind _off the map. They certainly don't need you furthering her agenda. And how could you--"

"Enough talk," T'Challa said as he pulled two small spheres from a small sack tied at his side, throwing them at Pym. They flattened, slamming into his chest and latching onto him -- an electrical surge followed, sending Hank to the floor. "Reed."

Mr. Fantastic watched Hank as he lay on the floor, finally turning to the Panther.

"You're either with me or--"

"Don't say it. I'll help you. I had no idea of their supposed long-term goals. The Protocols were supposed to just offer ... ideas ... help us with taking down unregistered mutants until they regained their senses... I feel so ignorant."

"Then you _are _human, my friend," T'Challa smiled. "Happy to hear it."

Reed returned to the computer, frantically typing. "The codes are being transferred from the hard drives of Camp Hammond as we speak."

"Just destroy them."

"I can't," Reed replied. "It won't let me. They're transferrable, not destructable."

The alarm continued to sound -- it had been activated some time ago.

"We can't have much time."

"You're out of it, actually," Pym said, pulling himself to his knees. "I won't let you do this. You'll jeopordize everything." Hank staggered as he got to his feet yet again. Then he disappeared.

"He's shrunk," Reed stood. Gas began to fill the room -- metal casings sliding over windows and ventilation ducts. A panel toward the back of the room slid open, two robotic figures resembling Ultron emerging.

"You're under arrest," they said in unison.

Pym winced as he crawled through the tiny crack between the floor and the entrance to his lab, reverting to normal size once reaching the outside. He fell back to the wall, his knees to his chest, hoping his friends wouldn't be stupid enough to take on his new Ultron models alone.

* * *

"He was wrong," Hank McCoy -- in the convenient guise of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent began, "they _do _have turkey."

Jen Walters perked up from her seat in front of the cell. "You're a lifesaver," she grinned, standing to take the sandwich. "You hear that, Cain? Turkey."

No response.

Hank stepped past her, looking in on Marko -- shackled, restrained, huddled in a corner. As to be expected.

"What are you doing, Agent?"

"I need your help, Jen."

Walters narrowed her eyes at the sandwich. Ham and cheese. "What did you call me?"

The agent pulled a small device from his pocket, pressing its sole button. An electro-magnetic pulse shot from it; She-Hulk could hear the cameras power down... and could see Henry McCoy, his image inducer now fried. "We won't have much time."

The sandwich hit the ground.

* * *

**NEXT: **The Invisible Woman vs. The Wasp! The Beast vs**** She-Hulk! Oh, and Ms. Marvel's _gambit _with S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanks for the reviews, they keep it comin'!


	4. benediction

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter four: benediction

* * *

_

Remy LeBeau's eyes darted open and followed Ms. Marvel's curves to the ground. He hung from her shoulder. "What in de?!"

"Quiet, Gambit," Ms. Marvel demanded, stopping and letting him down to the ground with a look of relief. He surveyed her for only a moment, his wrists shackled together, before slamming his bodyweight against her. The two fell back into the wall beside them, Agent Adler grabbing at LeBeau and wrapping her arms around him.

Ms. Marvel got to her feet, Remy struggling to break free of Adler's surprising strength. "In here," Adler spoke up. The three went into an interrogation room, Adler entering Ms. Marvel's codes and shutting off any surveilance in the tiny metallic box.

"I knew we couldn' trust you!"

Adler rolled her eyes, deactivating the image inducer she held in her hand. LeBeau stood between two Ms. Marvels for a moment, briefly recalling a dream of his from years ago, until the first Ms. Marvel shifted back into Mystique. "You just don't _listen_, do you?"

"...guess I get it now."

Both women raised their eyebrows as they looked at Gambit, LeBeau simply shrugging his shoulders. Ms. Marvel secured the door behind them, turning to face her two associates.

"Everything's going according to plan, at least on this end," she began.

"What was de plan again?"

"Tony and I are still on good terms," Carol noted. "After I went to him about your... resistance that's been building up, he'd asked me to take some of you out. If Mystique could pose as me bringing you in, we could get you into a holding cell."

"Sounds nice," Gambit said hesitantly, uneager to be locked up on the Hellcarrier. He'd heard stories.

"...and it was a lot less high profile if I flew in as Adler and Hank posed as another agent, who's now en route to She-Hulk. As near as I can tell Tony doesn't suspect a thing... but that could change at any time. He's perceptive."

"An' cocky."

"What about McCoy, then?" Raven asked.

"I can only hope he's doing as well as we are," Carol replied, "but I have no way of knowing yet. The important thing is that we've all made it onto the Hellcarrier. That was a not-so-tiny step one."

"I'm more concerned about gettin' off. I thought we were dealin' wit' She-Hulk?"

Ms. Marvel tightened LeBeau's shackles and slid a tiny lockpick into his hands. "Those skills of yours are going to come in handy."

"Carol," Gambit grinned, "I barely know you."

"Shut up."

* * *

"Are you INSANE?" Jennifer Walters stared down at The Beast. "You can't just waltz in here and--"

"--your security codes, Jen. I need them," Hank ignored her, examining the locks on Marko's door.

"You're on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Wanted List, Hank," she reasoned, "I should have already turned you in. Don't bring me into this, I have enough to deal with."

"As happy as I believe you to be as a day-and-night watch-Hulk," McCoy turned, "I can't help but think you'd be even happier busting out of here with Mr. Marko and joining the front to put an end to Tony Stark's reign as a faux-God."

Walters stepped back. "I don't have any codes. They don't really trust me."

She-Hulk stood still. "Got it," she grinned as she cracked her knuckles, bringing her hands together immediately after.

Beast stepped aside -- he'd seen that look in her jade eyes before. So much for the plan.

"Oh dear."

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING**

Ororo Munroe paced the length of Susan's office. She hadn't felt so anxious in years and was hardly accustomed to it. Her thoughts turned to T'Challa -- who'd often attempted to school her on the patience it took to sit on a throne.

"There is more diplomacy in sitting here," he'd mused, "than sending a half-dozen thunderbolts down from the Heavens, my love. You are a Queen now, not an adventurer."

"Says the man who wears a mask more than a crown," she'd smiled, sliding her hand over his, her fingers lacing their hands together into one.

Storm left her thoughts, clearing her head and taking a seat at Susan's desk.

"Diplomacy," she mumbled to herself, returning to thoughts of her friends.

* * *

Ms. Marvel sealed the containment cell with Gambit on the other side, the mutant looking less than ecstatic. They never did -- but Danvers took comfort in knowing he'd be out soon enough. She'd already looped the surveillance in the room, hoping no one would monitor it too closely. Mystique, masquerading as Agent Adler, had gone to begin deleting any files the Mutant Task Force had managed to round up over the years.

Carol moved down another hallway, taking a deep breath. She entered a few access codes as she moved through the complex.

This was it.

LeBeau began to pick at the lock as the door closed, navigating it through the tiny hole in the shackles with ease. It didn't matter how many years it'd been since he'd done it consistently -- it was like stealing a bike; once you learn...

LeBeau brought his wrists around, tossing the shackles to the side and smiling as he looked at the lockpick. It was Ororo's, he'd have recognized it anywhere. "Once a t'ief," he grinned again.

The room was completely barren. No windows, no seats, not even a toilet. And that's when he noticed it -- his way out: a ventilation duct in the top right corner. He leapt upward, grabbing at its casing and struggling to catch it before it could hit the floor. He sat it to the side and examined the duct.

He'd barely fit his head in it. "Good t'inkin', Carol," he murmured to himself. "How in de hell am I sposed ta--"

LeBeau flew backward as the wall with the ventilation duct crumbled in at him, She-Hulk standing amidst the debris victoriously. He stood, noting that behind her was another containment cell -- and in the wake of Jennifer Walters, another containment cell behind that, each conveniently missing its right wall.

McCoy bounced in behind her. "So much for being subtle," he grinned. "Let's go!"

"Don' have t'tell me twice," Gambit charged after the two who'd begun retreating through the rubble of the containment cells. "Yer lookin' mighty green t'day!" he yelled as he ran alongside She-Hulk. Her eyes narrowed. A moment later, the three grew very aware of how little time they had:

"_ATTENTION S.H.I.E.L.D. ... CODE ALPHA-OMEGA... ATTENTION S.H.I.E.L.D. ... CODE ALPHA-OMEGA..._"

"Wonder how de know we're here," Gambit said as he continued to follow McCoy and Walters through various hallways, noting the lack of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and the wake of destruction She-Hulk had left. They ran into a small Hangar, stopping before the old Quinjet model Ms. Marvel and The Beast had flown in on.

LeBeau stopped in his tracks as The Beast boarded. "Wait... aren't we here t'get somebody?"

McCoy popped his head out. "Marko is on the plane, Gambit, he's heavily sedated."

"Dat's great an' all, but I'm not leavin' wit'out Rogue!"

"Rogue's taken care of," Jen answered. "Code Alpha-Omega."

"Look," Gambit replied, the S.H.I.E.L.D. warning continuing to blaze and echo through the Hangar Bay, "I don' know what de hell yer talkin' about an' I don't care. I don't see her, and I ain't leavin' dis--"

She-Hulk's fist slammed into LeBeau's face, the mutant going down instantly. She threw him over his shoulder and boarded the Quinjet.

"Was that really necessary?" McCoy asked, manning the controls as he finished strapping himself in.

"You have to be as tired of blue jokes as I am green," she answered as she strapped Gambit in next to the unconscious Juggernaut. "And no."

Hank felt bad smiling as he navigated the Quinjet through the Hangar. The doors slid open, McCoy taking off into the open air with a sigh of relief. "Now I just hope Carol can pull this off."

The Quinjet flew upward, She-Hulk looking back to the Hellcarrier in time to see a massive explosion on one end of the vessel. "I'd say she's doing alright."

* * *

"Take them DOWN!" Stark commanded, various S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents firing weapons at Rogue and Ms. Marvel.

"_This _is your plan, Carol?!" Rogue barked as she narrowly avoided an array of laser fire. The two women flew through the air at each other's sides, agents scattering. Ms. Marvel was holding back -- she was sure Rogue wasn't. "Ah've been outta that cell for ten minutes and ah think ah'd like t'go back!"

"Things got hectic," Danvers replied, grabbing a gun from an agent and bending it in half. She batted away a few more, her eye on the open flame in the corner from the explosion she'd just caused. This was terrible.

"Ah'll say!"

A repulsor ray slammed into Danvers, Ms. Marvel flying the distance of the large open room her assault on S.H.I.E.L.D. was taking place in. Rogue looked back to find her stumbling up -- and for the first time, she was grateful she'd permanently borrowed Carol's powers so many years ago. She flew at Iron Man, her shoulder pounding into his stomach and sending them both to the ground. She acted quickly, her arms around his neck as she pulled him up in front of her.

Agents had surrounded Danvers, Rogue glaring as she held Stark close. "Get them the hell outta here or S.H.I.E.L.D's gonna be an army of one."

"AGENTS," Iron Man's voice echoed through the room. The handful that was left turned. "Take a survey of the Hellcarrier -- look for any injured, get them the help they need. We've been ambushed."

Carol felt her stomach sink as the agents made their uneasy leave, a few muttering their resistance at leaving their Director behind. The agents on the floor weren't so lucky.

Rogue tugged at Stark's helmet, ripping it from his shoulders -- pieces sparking as they separated. Her bare hand touched Stark's face for a second, both wincing in pain, Rogue falling back. Stark landed on his knees as he felt his armor go offline, a few key circuits had been disabled. Call it separation anxiety.

Tony stood, taking a few steps back from Rogue as Danvers approached. He shook his head.

"You'll feel it for awhile," Carol spoke up. The room was clear.

"...how'd you do this, Carol?"

"Tony..."

"...how _could _you do this?"

"Ah should--" Rogue began to pull her other glove off, moving in on Stark. Danvers stepped between the two.

"We're going to leave the Hellcarrier, Tony. You aren't going to stop us."

"You've already stopped yourselves," Stark replied.

"Bull."

"Rogue, please."

Rogue raised her eyebrow before Carol asked her to give them a moment. She walked to the edge of the room, stepping on a few of the unconscious agent's hands as she did so.

"You've lost it," Carol looked at Stark. "Just look around you."

"You sound like _him_."

Danvers stiffened. "Tony, if telling me I sound like Captain America is supposed to be an insult..."

"You may fly away from this base today, Carol," Tony glared, "but you have to know everything else you'd be flying away from. You've already betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. You..."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. betrayed me a long time ago, Tony. It betrayed us all, and instead of using your power to _fix it _you--"

"Fix it? I _perfected _it, Carol! And you helped me! The Avengers, The Initiative, Registration... they've all helped make this world a better, safer place!"

"From WHO, Tony? From the bad guys? The only thing S.H.I.E.L.D. has done -- the only thing _you've _done -- is turn the good guys _into _the bad guys! You've destroyed everything we've ever fought for! Look at this place!"

Danvers ran her arms through the air, Stark's eyes following them and glancing at rubble and fallen agents. His blood boiled.

"I didn't take these agents out," he barked.

"No, you ordered them to take _me _out!"

"You and a prisoner you helped escape, Carol!"

"Believe me," Danvers hissed, "Rogue may not be my best friend, but she's saved the world as many times as either one of us. She's only a prisoner because of your Steve issues! You want to make the world as safe and wonderful as he _could _have, as safe and wonderful as he always wanted it to be -- but without the choice! You can't police the world, Tony."

"You're right," Stark said, "but I can police you."

A small part of Tony's armor opened up, operating on reserve: a dart flying from it and lodging itself in Carol's thigh. She grunted as she pulled it out and stumbled forward. Rogue flew back, backhanding Tony and grabbing Danvers. "We're outta here!"

Her arms around Carol, Rogue slammed into the hull of the Hellcarrier, taking her first breath of unrecycled oxygen in months -- various crates, weapons and agents having been sucked out behind her.

"Computer," Stark wiped the blood from his mouth as he stood, wincing at the force of the wind from the breach, "containment field, Sector Nine!"

A force field sealed the breach, Tony surveying what was left of the room. What was left of his Hellcarrier.

"This is just beginning, Carol."

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING**

The first thing McCoy saw as the Quinjet door opened was Ororo Munroe. "Henry..."

"We're in one piece," he assured her, "and the cloaking system was intact as we were landing."

She-Hulk emerged, a still-sedated Juggernaut over her shoulder. "I know you only brought me," she grunted, "so I could carry your luggage."

"It's not easy being green," Hank smiled as he made eye contact with Walters.

"I'll kick your sorry blue--"

"--what happened to Remy?" Storm asked as she pulled LeBeau from the jet. "Where are the others?"

"We haven't heard from Carol or Raven," Hank answered. "As for Gambit, well... I think he'll be alright. I'm going to move Marko to the Med Lab and run a few tests -- I think our cajun associate will be needing some Tylenol, nothing more."

"Goddess," Storm spoke as the doors to the Hangar Bay whizzed open.

"Good t'see you too, Ororo," Rogue replied, the two wrapping their arms around one another almost instantly. Danvers remained in the distance, running her right hand along the length of her left arm. "Furball," Rogue turned and smiled at McCoy.

"Remy!"

LeBeau was holding his head, leaning against the Quinjet. Rogue picked him up, wrapping her arms around him.

"Not too tight, Chere," he winced. He glared in She-Hulk's direction, Walters heading to the Med Lab with Hank, but quickly turned back to the woman in front of him. "Second thought... tighter," he smiled.

Danvers walked up to Storm, Ororo placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "It is good to see you've returned."

"Stark hit me with something, Storm," Carol replied. "I don't know how Marvel-ous I'm going to be without any powers."

"You're home, Carol," Storm pulled her close. "You're finally home."

**HOURS LATER**

"We can only hope Mystique can maintain her guise as Adler up until she finds a way back," Storm began. "I've little doubt that Raven will find a way to survive."

She surveyed her friends who sat around the table -- Ms. Marvel, the Beast, She-Hulk, Rogue and Gambit. Storm started to speak again but found herself interrupted as four disks fell to the center of the table.

Hank grabbed one of the disks, pulling it close to his face. "The Xavier Protocols?!"

The Invisible Woman appeared to Hank's left in a tattered business suit.

"We may need a new home."

* * *

**NEXT**: Phase Two. Thanks for the reviews -- they keep it comin'!!


	5. the underground

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter five: the underground_

* * *

Danvers tilted her head, positioning the cell phone between her ear and shoulder as she lit a cigarette atop The Baxter Building. Or tried. 

"Just light," she whimpered as the wind ripped through her hair and through each flame. No luck. "Where's Storm when you need her?"

Carol rolled her eyes and threw the pack of cigarettes into the wind -- jumping slightly as Hank McCoy stepped onto the roof.

"We'll find a way to reverse it, Carol," Hank McCoy looked at his friend grimly, taking the cell phone from her ear and shutting it off. "No need to start smoking again. Or thinking your phone isn't being monitored."

"I feel so much better now," Danvers replied as she stared off into the city and slipped her phone back into her jacket.

"You should feel better than Cain Marko. He still hasn't woken up."

Carol offered no reply but noticed Hank talking to himself. "It's the same nannite technology which effected Jen," his voice got lower. "So why can't we unscramble it, make things right..."

"I may not be able to rip your head off," Carol smiled as she turned back, "but I can still hear you."

"My apologies," Hank replied. "I'm going to work on a few things -- can I make a suggestion?"

"Other than standing up here, watching my future fall apart?"

"Always the honorary X-Man," McCoy smiled. "And yes, actually."

"I'm all ears, Hank."

"Get off the rooftop. You're one of _us _now."

* * *

"Satellite has confirmed Danvers is at The Baxter Building. McCoy, too." 

Tony Stark nodded at Jim Rhodes, his longtime friend and confidant whose armor and technology mirrored his own as War Machine.

"You can't just attack The Baxter Building," War Machine replied. "What are you going to do?"

"What _are _you going to do?" Jessica Drew asked as the door opened. The former Spider-Woman tugged at her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform; she never thought she'd think it... but she actually missed the tights.

"Jessica," Tony smiled. "Good to see you."

"As always," she mused. "You called me out of retirement for what, exactly?"

"I need your help in picking up the pieces around here. I want you to lead the Mutant Task Force."

"What about Carol?"

"Classified."

"Tony, you can't expect me to--"

"--he's kidding, Jess," Rhodes shook his head. "You'll have to forgive his sense of humor; he doesn't use it much these days."

"Carol's gone rogue while you were away."

"What?"

"She helped several unregistered combatants break into the Hellcarrier -- and worse, helped even more break out."

"Didn't know she had it in her," Jessica said more to herself, her eye catching Tony's raised eyebrow. "But why me?"

"You've been out of the game for years and you're a formidable spy and tactician."

"I don't see what you're playing at."

"You're going to go to The Baxter Building."

"Excuse me?"

"Play on their sympathies."

"The Baxter Building? Carol's with Richards? Richards is working with unregistered--?"

"You'll have a full briefing within the hour, Jess," Tony interrupted. "Right now I just need you to say yes."

Drew ran her hand through her hair. "I'm not a spy."

"I didn't mean--"

"--what about Natasha?"

"Natasha's already on the field. She's needed where she is; you're needed here."

"They wouldn't buy it, Tony. No one trusts me -- not after what happened with Fury all those years ago, and certainly not after the Secret Invasion. You might as well send Rhodes over there."

"I know you can do this, Jessica."

"Why would I even want to?"

"Because I know you haven't been in retirement, Jessica. And eventually we'd be able to prove it. You know that."

"I'm registered, Tony," Drew argued, "if I use my powers it is no concern of yours."

"You're absolutely right," Stark took a few steps toward her. "But it is a concern of mine if you're working with unregistered mutants and men who've been bitten by radioactive spiders."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then go ahead and walk out of here," Stark looked her in the eye. "If you think you can. Or suit up for the undercover mission that's going to make you legal again and head to your briefing."

Drew bit her lip.

* * *

Ororo Munroe ran her hand along the glass in front of her, tracing the clouds with her fingertips. Even as she yearned for the skies, most of her thoughts had turned to the people of Wakanda -- currently left without a head of state. Was she doing the right thing? 

"Yes," Susan Richards interrupted her thoughts as she entered the lobby, "we're all under a tremendous amount of stress. Yes, we're probably going to be ambushed at any second..."

Storm turned to find a "levitating" tray via force field, holding two sandwiches and cups of coffee to go along with them. She smiled. "Susan."

"...but that's no reason not to eat," she finished, taking a seat on a sofa and motioning for Ororo to do the same. The tray landed softly on the table in front of it as Munroe took a seat next to her old friend.

"How are the children?" Munroe asked as she took a bite.

"Gambit's doing much better," Richards replied, taking a bite of her own. "And Jen wouldn't stop raving about the turkey I made her."

The two laughed. "Johnny is treating them well?"

"They're fine," Sue sighed. "Johnny's worried, of course... but I didn't fill him in on most of it; just asked him to keep the kids safe. Franklin was more than thrilled to stay with his uncle for awhile, gets him out of his term work. So much more like me than his father," she smiled. "I guess things aren't as exciting as they used to be around here. Or at least they weren't."

"It sounds wonderful."

Sue stiffened. "It's been two days, Ororo... and nothing. No contact from Stark, nothing about Pym..."

"What happened at Camp Hammond, Susan?"

Richards looked away. Ororo could see the comfort leave her eyes and placed her hand on Susan's.

"I retrieved the Protocols."

* * *

"We should get outta here," LeBeau took Rogue's hand in his own in the room they were sharing. "Dis don' have t'be our fight anymore, Rogue. We can leave it all behind. Start over." 

"Ah'm a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D. an' you're an unregistered mutant who's broken into their base, Remy. Ah don't think there's a safe place on this earth Tony Stark wouldn't go t'get us."

"Let 'im come. I can't lose you again."

"He'll be comin', Remy," Rogue laid back on the bed. "Ah'm just gonna make sure we're here when he does. We can't let these people take the fall for all've us."

"D'ese people? C'mon, Rogue -- you just called yer friends d'ese people. We should get _out of here _before..."

"Remy?" Rogue glared, her gloved finger over his lips after she sat back up.

"Shut it, swamp rat."

* * *

**THE SUB-BASEMENT BENEATH FORMER AVENGERS MANSION**

"The best way to hide," Vance Astrovik smiled as he walked into the room, "is always in plain sight."

"I still think it's crazy," Peter Parker stood. "This place is a tourist trap, has been for years."

"And we've been here for years," Surge replied, pulling him back into his chair. "Stark obviously doesn't suspect a thing."

Justice took a seat next to Nori and Parker. "The Invisible Woman got in and got out. Have you heard from Jessica?"

"Jess said she'd be back later," Nori answered. "I dunno where she went... you know how you registered types are."

"Very funny," Vance rolled his eyes. "Listen -- in light of the attack on Camp Hammond I think we should limit our outings."

"I'll be sure to tell her for you," Nori rolled her eyes in return. "Y'know, since you'll probably be _gone _when she gets back."

"That isn't fair."

"I feel really bad for ya, myself," Parker placed his hand on Vance's shoulder. "What with not being buried underground almost every single day."

"Do you think I _want _to be at Camp Hammond? That I _want _to be working with Pym or spend every damn day thinking they're onto me? I'm a mutant, Peter; that's a lot different than being just an unregistered hero these days."

"I'm not just an unregistered hero," Parker quipped. "I'll have you know that I'm on S.H.I.E.L.D's most-wanted, too."

"Join the crowd," Jamie Madrox took a seat next to Astrovik. "I just talked to the Beast... he _is _with Richards. He's working on a plan to get us out of here and into the Baxter Building."

"Quite a gamble, contacting The Baxter Building."

"Not when we just learned The Invisible Woman handed Hank Pym his ass, Nori," Jamie replied.

"And I'm just supposed to report there when I'm done every day?" Vance perked up. "That's insane."

"No," Madrox replied, "what's _coming _is insane. Our little underground is about to come to an end. We're going to shut down Camp Hammond -- and afterwards, we'll have sanctuary in one of the most well-protected facililties in this country."

"That's impossible."

"Not anymore," Madrox replied. "Danvers has switched sides, and in case you've forgotten we have Storm _and_ the Invisible Woman... The tides are turning."

"Five people can't shut down a camp full of superheroes."

"The Invisible Woman got in and out," Madrox attempted to remind him.

"Yes," Justice replied, "and because of that security's at an all-time high and they're watching me more closely than ever. I probably shouldn't even _be _here."

"Then leave," Madrox glared.

"Jamie..."

"Nori, not now. Vance, if you're not in this I need to know."

"I've kept you updated on The Initiative's activities for years and you're asking me if I'm not in this?"

No answer.

Vance sighed. "What's the plan?"

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING**

"I know it seems brash... but if they can do it, and I believe they can, imagine --"

"--you've been working wit' Madrox an' his group and you didn't bother to tell anybody?"

"Not for some years, no, Gambit," McCoy replied.

"Why didn't Justice say anything when I spoke with him at Camp Hammond?"

"He did, Susan," Hank began, "by letting you leave."

"So what you're saying," She-Hulk spoke up, "is that Vance has been operating underground and working against Stark for years? And _no one _in The Initiative suspects a thing?"

"Yes."

Jen smiled to herself. "They're stupider than I thought. You mutants really stick together, huh?"

"Vance has his own reasons for seeking the downfall of The Initiative program," Hank answered and turned back to Gambit. "Bobby and I were working together in an attempt to reorganize a squad of X-Men, his methods a bit less conventional than my own -- and after his capture Madrox assumed a type of leadership. I had lost contact with the group when Robert was taken in... until today I'd believed them captured. Or worse."

"How did you regain contact, Henry?" Storm spoke from the head of the table.

"An' why didn't anybody break Bobby outta the Hellcarrier?" Rogue ignored Storm's question and glared at Carol.

"Drake's being held in a liquid state," Carol answered uneasily. "It would have been impossible at that time."

"...news of your return to U.S. soil has generated quite a reaction, Ororo," McCoy changed the subject. "And in conjunction with learning of Susan's one-woman assault on Camp Hammond, courtesy of Mr. Astrovik, Madrox took a leap of faith and opened a channel to Baxter."

"I don' like it," Gambit sighed. "This just keeps gettin' more'n more outta hand."

"We can only benefit from the manpower, Remy," Storm attempted to calm his fears. "If they do indeed rid us of Camp Hammond it would be a crippling blow to Tony Stark's empire."

"The gateways to the Negative Zone are maintained at Camp Hammond," Carol asserted. "Destroy those and you also destroy any of their state-to-state jumps."

"You don't think Stark will be expecting any of this? He has to know we have The Protocols."

"Without a doubt, Jennifer," Hank replied. "But I have every faith in Madrox and his squad."

"Who's he got?" Rogue asked.

"Spider-Man, Justice, Surge, as many multiples of himself as he can generate -- and Jessica Drew."

"Jessica?" Carol perked up. "That's impossible."

"Carol?" Ororo looked to her friend.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been monitoring her for some time; they want her back. She hasn't used her powers in God only knows..."

"Then her guise is well-maintained," the Beast smiled.

"You smile too much."

"Remy," Rogue said softly and squeezed his hand under the table.

"I don' know what kinda world you all t'ink we're livin' in, s'all," LeBeau looked around the table. "Dis ain't no happy place. You practically have t'sign a sheet of paper to wipe your ass."

"Then perhaps this isn't the place for you, Gambit," Susan glared at him. "We're only as strong as our weakest link."

"Susan..."

"No, Ororo," Richards stood. "I've risked the safety of _my children _for this cause. Because it's right. What in the hell has _he _risked? You're in my home, a home of _heroes_. If you're not willing to act like one, Gambit, then maybe you should leave."

"An' go where?" Rogue stood.

The door slid open -- a robotic figure entering the room. "Mrs. Richards?"

"Saved by the 'bot," Jen said under her breath.

"Yes?" Richards turned.

"Jessica Drew is here," the robotic help replied as Carol narrowed her eyes.

* * *

**  
TOP-SECRET S.H.I.E.L.D. CONTAINMENT FACILITIES**

"The nannites I injected Carol with were DNA-specific," Iron Man spoke as he walked the long, dark corridor next to War Machine. Both men were in their armor, their helmets in their respective arms. "I was afraid this would happen, though I never wanted to admit it."

"So she's powerless?"

"For now," Stark replied. "But I have faith in McCoy's intellect... that's why we're here," he stopped at the end of the hallway in front of two large doors.

War Machine surveyed the nameplate. "Wolverine? Tony... there's barely anything left of him."

"I know," Tony said as he began tapping away at the keypad on the left door. "That's what gives me faith that Weapon X is perfect for this. The nannites bonded to the adamantium perfectly. _Weapon _X doesn't just sound cool, Jim."

"That was almost a joke," War Machine arched an eyebrow. "I don't know, Tony."

The door hissed open.

"Jessica's past aside, Carol knows we'd been trying to contact her -- but not that she was working with Spider-Man and the others. She won't be trusted... Jessica knew what she was talking about. When she takes down X here she'll regain their trust. We'll have them within a week."

"Just _look_ at Wolverine, Tony," Rhodes pleaded. "There's no humanity in that thing. You send it out there, even with Drew, we're not getting any of those people back."

"Our cells are full enough."

"That's another joke, right?"

Stark didn't reply.

"Tony. _Right_?"

Iron Man ignored him, entering some more access codes and releasing Weapon X from the cryogenics.

"...Right."

* * *

**NEXT: **_WEAPON X._


	6. weapon x

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter six: weapon x_

* * *

"This is Hank Pym, Yellowjacket," the panicked founding Avenger screamed from the small monitor in front of War Machine, "requesting immediate assistance at Camp Hammond! We're under attack -- most of our forces have been neutralized! I repeat, this is Hank Pym, Yellowjacket, requesting immedi--"

"It ends there," Rhodes turned. "I'm leaving now, Tony, your assistance would be _greatly appreciated_." Rhodes slipped his War Machine helmet over his face, Tony Stark standing motionless in a business suit.

"I have a meeting with Congress about Wakanda, Jim," he replied non-chalantly. "But take as many men with you as you--"

"Go to hell, Tony," War Machine left the room, making his way to the skies a few moments later. "This is War Machine," he spoke into a comm-link, "requesting Initiative assistance at Camp Hammond. Negative Zone gateways are down, I'm en route to Camp Hammond now."

A few moments later, Rhodes turned to acknowledge Wonder Man at his side. "What's going on, Rhodey?!"

"Hammond is under some kind of attack," he replied.

"Where's Tony??"

"I haven't seen him for years," Rhodes replied more to himself.

* * *

Yellowjacket grinned as he turned off the rest of the equipment in the tiny room, heading to the door. As he pulled it open, he became Raven Darkholme for just an instant, returning to Agent Adler the next.

Mystique watched as agents scattered about the hallways, various soldiers in Tony Stark's army ready to head off to Camp Hammond. "Morons," she mumbled.

She moved effortlessly through the halls before entering a few access codes she'd picked up over the last week. The door hissed open, Darkholme closing it behind her as she moved inside.

"Don't stand up, Robert."

* * *

"I thought you were supposed to be unstoppable," Jennifer Walters said as she entered the med lab, staring down at the ever-unconscious Cain Marko. "Some juggernaut you are."

She ran her fingertips over Marko's left arm, taking a seat in the overized chair beside the larger-than-life bed. "It wouldn't be so bad if you'd just wake up, Cain. I'm tired of this General Hospital act."

Walters waited.

And waited.

"I get it, alright? You're mad at me for not breaking you out sooner. Wake up."

Nothing.

"Okay," she sighed. "Well, I was only working for Stark to keep an eye on you. And him, for that matter," she mumbled. "But mostly you."

His vitals were fine, Hank had said -- probably just the insane amount of sedatives, he'd said. Jen couldn't help but wonder why the X-Men, after years of facing him as one of their most brutal villains, never thought to do what Tony Stark had.

"That's a horrible thought, Jen," she said to herself. "Wake up, Cain. You're starting to make me angry."

Jen looked around the medlab. They were alone.

"...and you won't like me when I'm angry," she said lowly, cracking a smile. Then she began laughing.

"'You won't like me when I'm angry.' No kidding, Jen, how many people like _anyone _who's angry? God that's lame."

Jen traced the veins on his arm. Up and down, up and down.

"Wake UP, CAIN," she tried again. Nothing.

Jen shook her head after another moment. "Alright, time to stop talking to yourself."

Jen noticed a mirror on the wall. She wore a plain white t-shirt and a pair of old jeans, both leftovers still conveniently found in her old room in the Baxter Building. "Damn," she winked into her reflection, laughing again.

Then she sighed.

"This party sucks."

* * *

"Bullshit," Carol Danvers glared as Spider-Woman and The Invisible Woman walked into Susan's office.

"I still go by Jessica," Drew replied, her eyes never leaving Danvers.

"She's here to help," Richards spoke up. "She's been working with Madrox's team for years."

"And I've been working with Tony's," Carol challenged. "Jessica, can I see you outside?"

"I don't think we have time for this, Carol. And it's good to see you too."

"Don't patronize me."

"What are you even _doing_ here? You haven't switched sides, have--"

"--I told you not to patronize me," Danvers cut her off.

"Carol, please," Ororo looked to her old friend, approaching the two. "We can't start doubting every alliance we've made. These are difficult times. Or need I remind you that you _are _on Stark's payroll."

"Sure," Carol replied, clearly hurt. "I'll just head back to my penthouse, shouldn't be a problem."

"Why have you come here, Jessica?" Storm asked.

Energy shot from Spider-Woman's fingertips, slamming into a vase full of flowers -- it shattered, petals and porcelain hitting the floor. "To take care of Stark."

"We all have a bit of cleaning up to do," Sue glared at the broken vase, then at Drew. "You can start over there."

"If ya ask me," Gambit began -- stopping short as the lights flickered, dimmed, and finally went out.

The emergency lights switched on -- the room tinted mostly in red.

"Is this part of your plan, Jess?" Carol asked, surveying the room.

"Shh," Spider-Woman turned, looking to the ceiling for a moment.

"The emergency lights should--hkk!" The Invisible Woman doubled over, a helmetted figure clad in all black standing behind her and pulling claws back into their hand.

"Susan?!" Storm screamed, falling to her knees next to her friend. Electricity sizzled in her eyes. Munroe turned to find the figure atop Gambit, LeBeau struggling. A bolt of lightning flew from her hands, Weapon X slamming into the wall behind them but standing almost immediately to charge at Gambit again. LeBeau pulled his staff to block the oncoming assault, X's claws cutting right through it.

Charging each makeshift miniature staff, he threw them at her -- miniature explosions illuminating the room, offering only a better-lit view of the assailant. LeBeau dropped to the ground, his leg slamming into Weapon X's and knocking the mutant off-balance for only a moment.

X leapt into the air into another bolt of lightning, the helmet flying off to reveal...

"X-23?!"

* * *

"How I'm supposed to work in the dark," McCoy began as he looked to She-Hulk and the unconscious Juggernaut, "is beyond me."

"Do you think everything's alright?"

"It never is," he looked to Jennifer. "Cain's vitals will be fine -- he doesn't _need _the oxygen, it's just there as a precaution. You can stay here with him if you'd like -- I'm going to head upstairs, see what's going on."

The door opened again, She-Hulk and the Beast turning to find Rogue standing in the doorway. "Somebody forget t'pay the bill?"

"Maybe Stark had it shut off. He's running the electric companies now, isn't he?" Walters smiled.

"Ah'll go check with Sue."

* * *

Three kinetically charged knives sliced through the air and slammed into Weapon X; Laura Kinney. Gambit stumbled up with a wince as X pulled them from her thigh without a second thought. She leapt forward, tackling Storm through the windows which made up the walls of the office.

"Ororo!" Carol screamed, running to the room's edge. She watched as the two women fell through the skies towards the streets of New York City. Instinctively she leapt through the shards, her eyes bulging as she began her own freefall.

Spider-Woman acted quickly, following Carol -- her arms wrapped around her old friend as she continued to soar after Storm and Weapon X. Their eyes locked; enough of a conversation for either woman.

Rain began to pour as Storm soared upward to meet Spider-Woman. "Inside," she said sharply.

The three women made their way into the building again to find Rogue pulling The Invisible Woman into her arms, Gambit standing beside them.

Storm spoke quickly. "That will only slow her down -- Rogue, get her to Hank immediately."

Rogue nodded, heading to the med-lab, LeBeau behind her. Storm followed.

Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel stayed behind.

"She'll be back."

"She's supposed to be dead," Carol replied. "What in the hell--"

"X-23 took out _Wolverine_, Carol," Jessica stared at her. "What makes you think Tony didn't lie about holding onto someone -- some_thing_ -- like that?"

"You know more than you're letting on," Danvers barked. "It's awfully convenient that Weapon X showed up when you did, Jess. You're going to tell me what it is you know, and you're going to do it now."

Lightning and thunder helped light the red-tinted room from outside as the onslaught of rain continued. "Or what, Carol? You'll punch me?"

Danvers glared at her, clenching her fists. "She-Hulk knows all of the security codes here -- that thing's going to come back. Let's make sure we're ready."

* * *

"I'm doing the best I can," McCoy scrambled as he tinkered with various electronics and computer systems. "But the emergency power only offers so much life support. She's lost so much blood... my God... you said it was X-23? Are you _sure_?"

LeBeau ripped the shirt from his back -- what was left of it -- blood still seeping from 23's claws.

"'Nuff said," McCoy turned back to Richards, various Baxter Building robots applying pressure to her wound and sanitizing the area.

"Luckily they aren't too deep," Gambit offered as one of Reed Richards' medbots finished patching him up with antiseptic and gauze. "Dis time."

The lights resumed full-power just before Jennifer Walters walked back into the room. "Good thing they don't change too much around here," she began. "Security's on its highest setting -- and the power's back up."

"Then I'll do my work here," McCoy replied, his eyes never leaving Susan. "Go do yours."

Walters grinned as she, Munroe and Rogue left the room uneasily, meeting Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman in the hall. "She's stabilized," Storm nodded to the oncoming two. "And Gambit is fine."

"Jen," Carol ignored her, "what can you do about securi--"

"--well, the lights are on," Walters replied. "I've already taken care of it. Just because I never led the Avengers doesn't mean--"

"**Enough**," Storm glared at the three women before her. "Susan is dying and Stark has clearly sent an assassin to The Baxter Building. We need to formulate a plan immediately."

Spider-Woman bit her lip. "What about the Protocols?"

"They're dated," Munroe replied. "X-23 is not in them."

"How did you know about--"

"--Madrox, Carol. He told me all about them -- that Sue had gotten hold of them."

Danvers never took her eyes off of Spider-Woman. Something didn't add up; Carol knew it. What did Stark know? Had he really sent her? What if she was wrong -- what if Spider-Woman _was _working with Madrox and Madrox alone? It didn't feel right.

"Maybe she left," Rogue spoke up. "Sounds like you gave her quite a scare, Storm."

"Jennifer, Remy," Storm began, "you're with me. Carol, take Rogue and Spider-Woman. X-23 knows nothing of fear," Munroe replied.

"Yet."

The two groups headed off in search of their would-be assassin.

* * *

War Machine surveyed the area as he landed at Camp Hammond.

"Nothing."

Wonder Man landed next to him. "Not out here, anyway. We still don't know what we're walking into."

"...Camp Hammond, established 2007, last I checked," Vance Astrovik smiled as he walked from the main entrance. "I didn't know you two were dropping by for a visit today."

"Neither did we," Rhodes replied. "Everything is fine?"

"And boring," Justice replied. "Off-season, remember?"

"We received a transmission from Yellowjacket--"

"--Hank's off-base today," Astrovik stopped him. "I'm in charge."

"That's a scary thought," Wonder Man smiled as he clasped his hand around Vance's shoulder. Astrovik simply looked at it -- Simon removing his hand a second later.

"Wonder Man, I want you to take an aerial sweep of of the camp. I'm going to head inside with Justice here... stay close."

"You bet," Simon looked to War Machine before he took off into the air.

Vance bit his lip, careful not to show any signs of stress as he and Rhodes made their way inside -- systematically going through each of the security measures set up so many years ago and carefully updated after The Invisible Woman's attack.

"One thing's been plaguing me since your report," War Machine broke the silence.

"My report?"

"About Richards."

"...and what's that?"

"That you never made one."

"It must not have been sent, that's all," Astrovik replied uneasily.

"Your heart's beating faster, Vance," War Machine looked at him through his helmet.

The doorway slid open and the two men walked into a large, barren conference room. "Why was there no report, Vance?"

"I guess there wasn't much to say."

"The Wasp is in a coma, Mr. Astrovik," War Machine turned, the two men stopping in their tracks. "And the last I heard, Hank is barely able to walk. You were the one who found them."

"I figured Dr. Pym would--"

"Alright," Jamie Madrox stepped from the shadows. "We get it. You're onto us."

"Madrox?!" Rhodes glared, raising his repulsor rays as Peter Parker slammed into him from up above. The two men slammed into the floor, Parker flipping effortlessly back into the air and landing on the wall.

"Surprise," Spider-Man smiled beneath his mask.

Energy shot from each of War Machine's palms -- one in the direction of Madrox, another at Parker. Spider-Man flipped through the air, webbing shooting from each hand to form a lasso around War Machine's ankles. He tugged, the armored Avenger hitting the floor. Madrox had allowed the energy to hit him, shaking his head as a duplicate picked him up.

The two Madrox's smiled and spoke in unison. "Ready for round two?"

* * *

"HAAAUGHHH!" X-23 screamed as she lunged at Spider-Woman, Drew barely avoiding her claws with a lucky venom blast.

"How the hell did she get back in here?!" Carol screamed.

"Stay behind me!" Rogue yelled to Danvers, stepping in front, her fists ready.

X-23's claws sliced into Spider-Woman's left arm, the former Avenger falling to the ground and grabbing at her wound to apply pressure. Weapon X turned, ready to finish her prey, Drew lunging upward with her other fist and connecting with the predator's jaw -- sending her flying into Rogue's arms, "Take a hike!", and then forward as the X-Man threw her into a table, wood and blood flying like confetti.

Rogue slammed into her again, gliding through the air with X-23 facing her. "Let's get you outta here, ya little--" Rogue began, her eyes bulging as X-23 nestled her way closer to her.

Danvers winced as Rogue slammed through another window, taking the battle into the New York skyline, her eyes focused on 23's bloodied, claw-extended hands which protruded from Rogue's back.

Ms. Marvel pulled Spider-Woman to the window in time to see 23 grab at Rogue's limp shoulders and propell herself upward, landing on her back and using it as a trampoline to fly back inside. The two women fell backward as 23 slammed into them with full force, laying atop them after the three hit the floor.

"She's stunned -- contact with Rogue," Spider-Woman said quickly, thrusting the dizzied Weapon X from she and her friend. The mutant stumbled at them before falling to her knees and hitting the floor face down.

Danvers ignored her, limping to the broken window and gazing into the rainy city.

"Rogue."

Spider-Woman looked up, sending a venom blast directly into Carol's back -- Ms. Marvel spinning to face Jessica as she lost her footing and began to fall back. Her hand grabbed inward, slamming into a shard of glass still attached to the building's frame. She screamed from the pain, struggling to maintain her hold against the wind and rain from the outside.

"It's nothing personal, Carol," Drew walked closer, "just survival. I finally put X-23 down, but not before I lost the two of you. Tony's the future, Carol -- you never should have left him."

Danvers felt the flesh in her hand rip farther apart as Spider-Woman raised her hands for another venom blast -- muttering something in agony. Drew's curiosity was peaked as she moved even closer, Danvers latching onto her bloodied shoulder and pulling her outside. Spider-Woman grabbed at Carol, the glass ripping the rest of the way through Danvers' hand and sending the two women down toward the streets.

The two women continued to plummet until Spider-Woman jolted them upwards, Danvers' good arm latched around Spider-Woman's neck. "Where the head goes," Carol grunted, pushing her own bodyweight toward the rooftop -- guiding Drew to crashland atop it, "the body ... follows!"

Carol rolled forward, grunting in pain, Spider-Woman sending a venom blast toward her with just enough time for Ms. Marvel to narrowly avoid it. Danvers winced as she ran forward, her fist slamming into Jessica's face and catapulting Spider-Woman over the rooftop. A venom blast slammed into Carol as Spider-Woman flew into the air, Danvers spinning out of control, her face slamming into the door which led back inside.

She fell to the ground, level with Spider-Woman's boot as she landed on the rooftop again, quickly grabbing a knife from her jacket and slamming it into Drew's foot. Jessica howled as Danvers leapt up, using one leg to propel off of the ground and another to connect with Drew's jawline. Blood leapt from Spider-Woman's lips as she flew backward, the knife still attached to the rooftop as her foot left it.

Danvers wiped the blood, rain and hair from her eyes as she walked toward the crippled Drew, Spider-Woman gazing up in fear. "It's nothing personal, Jess," she glared. "Just survival."

"Carol," Jessica pleaded, releasing as many pheremones as she could muster in an effort to sway Danvers from her onslaught, "stop this..."

Ms. Marvel glared at her, rain beating down on the two former Avengers. "Get the hell out of here."

She extended her hand good hand, Spider-Woman pulling herself up.

"If you come back, Jessica," Marvel pulled her hand back, "you'd better come back with something worse than Weapon X."

Spider-Woman stood face to face with her before turning and soaring off into the rain. Carol staggered, falling to the ground.

"...damnit..."

* * *

"No sign of them," She-Hulk spoke as she entered the med-lab. "Not Rogue, not Spider-Woman, not Carol, not Weapon X."

"...Susan's condition has stabilized," McCoy turned, "for now."

"I'm goin' t'find Rogue," Gambit called from outside the door as Storm entered, turning and calling for her friend to stop, her orders falling on deaf, Cajun ears.

"I'll go after him -- stay here with McCoy, Storm -- you're too important."

"I hardly think--"

"--she's right, Ororo," Hank called. "You're safest in here. The lab is sealed and impenetrable."

Walters charged after LeBeau, catching up to him with ease. It didn't take long for the two to find the remnants of the room Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel and Rogue had been in. But it was empty.

"Lookit all dis blood," Remy spoke, looking up at She-Hulk.

"And still no sight of anyone," Jen replied, lifting a couch and tossing it aside. "The window..."

"Seems to be de popular trick," Gambit offered uneasily, doing his best to mask his sinking stomach and fear-beating heart. "You t'ink..."

"Yes," She-Hulk cut him off, surveying all of the blood on the shards of glass. Rain continued to whip inside.

The door flew open, a charged knife flying at Danvers who sidestepped it and fell to the ground again.

"Carol!"

"Weapon... X... she was... in this room," Danvers spoke softly as She-Hulk lifted her into her arms.

"Where are the others?"

"...in dis room?" Gambit looked around uncomfortably. "Carol, where's Rogue?"

"Where are the others, Carol?"

Danvers was unconscious.

"Get her to de--"

"--med-lab, I know," She-Hulk rolled her eyes; she'd already begun the trek. "You're coming with me."

"De hell I am."

"Don't make me hit you," she threatened. "Again."

The two made their way to the med-lab, McCoy opening the door from the inside and immediately tending to Carol with the assistance of the medbots. Munroe looked on in horror, Gambit pacing: his only thought Rogue.

"She's still out there," Jennifer spoke up.

She-Hulk, Beast, Storm and Gambit's eyes darted upward -- it sounded like lightning had struck the building from above.

"Ororo?"

"No," Storm said hastily.

"I'm goin' back out dere," Gambit glared at them, She-Hulk following. Before they could reach the door it slammed inward, LeBeau and Walters stumbling back as Rogue stood, two claws extended from each hand -- X-23's head attached to one of them.

"She got mah guts," Rogue spoke, her eyes narrowed. "Ah got her healin' factor."

Ororo's eyes widened at the sight.

Cain Marko sat up from his oversized bed as She-Hulk stood, all eyes on Rogue.

"...what'd I miss?"

* * *

**NEXT:** _Mystique strikes! The Juggernaut is awake! The fate of The Invisible Woman and Carol Danvers! And what the hell happened at Camp Hammond? Thanks for the reviews -- they keep it comin'!!_


	7. the queen

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter seven: the queen_

* * *

"Despite her appearance on U.S. soil, Queen of Wakanda Ororo Munroe did not make the summit -- members of the U.N. were less than skeptical about her true intent. Tony Stark has called on Munroe, pleading for her to--"

Storm turned the television off. "I'll have to make a statement."

"That's exactly what he wants, Ororo," Susan Richards replied from her bed. "You'd be walking into an assault."

"Then at least I'll be used to it."

"You've got it made, Sue," Jennifer Walters smiled as she entered the med-lab. "Televisions, Queens who wait on you hand and foot, all from a bed. This is nicer than anything a hospital'd give you."

"I'd have rather my stomach intact," Sue returned a weak smile as She-Hulk took a seat.

"Stark is attacking us on all fronts," Ororo took a seat of her own. "But I can hardly ignore his challenge -- if the American people begin to see Wakanda as some sort of threat, the hostility will only grow. The average American will call for war."

* * *

Wonder Man's limp body fell forward into the containment cell, Peter Parker cracking his knuckles before he activated the security shield and turned to meet Surge. "_Real _wonder-ful, isn't he?" 

"He's kind of cute," Nori grinned.

"Yeah," Spider-Man arched an eyebrow, "if you're into that ionic-thing."

"Keep it in your pants, you two," Jamie Madrox scoffed. "We're almost finished here -- and as far as we know, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't know a damn thing."

"Y'know," Spider-Man smiled, "for policing the world and all that, S.H.I.E.L.D. could really use a revamp. We're not exactly subtle."

"I like to think we are," Vance Astrovik called as he finished punching in a few codes into a computer terminal.

"You're on their payroll, Vance," Parker looked to Justice. "Of course you'd like to think we are."

"This place blows in four minutes, so we have to move fast," Madrox reminded them. "It won't be long before Stark realizes War Machine is offline. The communication between their armor is routed through the same system."

"You're sure the blast won't break through their cell?" Vance asked.

Madrox ignored him.

"Good thing you re-absorbed that S.H.I.E.L.D. dupe," Nori smiled. "Are all of the state-to-state jumps disabled, Vance?"

"Almost all of them," Justice replied, his eyes still on Jamie. "Looks like we have a visitor, though." Vance turned in time for a door to slide open, a battered Jessica Drew stumbling into Spider-Man's arms.

"Jessica?"

"She'll be fine, Peter," Iron Man walked out from behind her, a repulsor ray slamming into Spider-Man as his spider sense went off and Drew leapt forward, tackling Surge as she began to let out a burst of electricity.

The two women hit the ground hard, Spider-Woman grabbing Nori by her head and slamming it back down onto the floor. Jessica flipped upward, four small darts leaving her fingertips and connecting with Madrox and the three dupes he'd already made. The duplicates disappeared, Madrox hitting the ground.

Another repulsor ray sliced through the air in conjunction with the energy from Spider-Woman's hands, narrowly avoiding Justice as he flew into the air, a telekinetic blast pounding Spider-Woman into Iron Man. He moved her to the side, blasting away at Justice -- the only casualty pieces of the ceiling and various computer terminals.

"You've spent too much time with Parker, Vance," Iron Man stayed cool. "I actually trusted you."

"Leave the talking to someone with decent one-liners, Tony!" Parker navigated through the air, his shoulder slamming into Stark's armor after he flipped toward him. The two stumbled back, Spider-Man effortlessly wrapping Jessica Drew in his webbing as he turned. "And you call yourself a _spider_."

"I call her a traitor," Justice glared, the brunt force of his telekinetic power slamming her into a wall -- the already battered woman giving up, bound in webbing and now unconscious.

"That's funny," Iron Man flew upward, batting Parker away and grabbing Justice by the shoulders, "coming from you!"

The two men went through the ceiling, through another room above it, and then through the rooftop; Stark only releasing him once they'd hit the skies above Camp Hammond. Justice soared backwards, a telekinetic shield surrounding him as another blast left Stark's armor. He winced: he wouldn't be able to hold up much longer. "Peter!" he clutched his ear piece. "Get them out of there -- that bomb's going to blow!"

Iron Man's fist slammed through Justice's weakened shield, several teeth flying from Astrovik's mouth as the cold iron made its connection. His eyes rolled back in his head and he began falling toward the ground, Iron Man turning as well and flying through the makeshift skylight he'd 'built' through the camp.

He landed inside, Parker struggling to collect his friends before the bomb blew. "Peter," Stark called, his mask folding back from his face. It had been years since he'd heard that tone. "Peter, listen to me."

"No time," webbing shot at Stark, missing narrowly. Spider-Man threw Madrox over the shoulder Surge wasn't draped over. The bomb continued to count down -- :**57**.

:**56**.

:**55**.

"Peter, this isn't you. You aren't going to let a bomb detonate in the middle of _Stamford_, no matter what else has happened."

:**52**.  
:**51**.

"Vance is going to contain it," Parker grunted as Madrox slipped from his shoulder and hit the ground.

:**49**

:**48**

"I doubt he could even do that at full-strength, Peter. And I took Justice down."

"In more ways than one," Parker struggled to get Madrox back on his shoulder.

:**44**.

"Damnit, Peter," Stark moved past him, examining the bomb in the corner. It was encased in webbing. "And what about Wonder Man? War Machine?"

"I figured you'd get them out of here," a line of webbing erupted from Peter's wrists. "Good luck, Tony... and don't forget your little Spider-Bitch. Never thought you'd have _another _one -- I'm kind of hurt!"

Stark watched him leave, a few lasers leaving his armor and severing the bomb from the wall as they cut through the webbing. He turned back, his eye catching Spider-Woman on the ground -- and the unconscious Jim Rhodes and Simon Williams on the other side of a force field.

"Damnit."

Outside, Parker landed next to Astrovik who'd begun to pick himself up. He stumbled slightly, taking Nori from Peter's arms. "This isn't right, Vance."

"I doubt we have time to discuss it," Justice replied quickly. "We have to get out of here."

Justice surrounded he and Parker with a shield, lifting them into the air with Madrox and Surge. They flew forward, over a road, and then stopped as their eyes followed a school bus which innocently made its way through the streets.

"Take them," Spider-Man said sternly.

Their eyes reached an understandment.

Back inside, Stark had grabbed the bomb and began to fly upward until he was met with Parker. "Give it to me!" Spider-Man yelled, tearing the mask from his face and landing on the rooftop. He removed the casing, his hands moving quickly over the tiny keyboard as his spider-sense began to sound. "You couldn't have tried to defuse it yourself?!"

"I thought it'd be quicker to send it into space."

Iron Man watched impatiently as Parker entered a few access codes.

:**07**.

"Well?"

"Shut it, shellhead," Peter replied, tugging at a series of wires.

:**05**.

:**04**.

:**03**.

Iron Man's eyes went wide -- the flashing red numbers all he could see as Parker tugged and prodded.

:**01**.

* * *

Remy LeBeau shuffled some cards from one hand to the other as he sat on his bed. Rogue sat across from him, her back to his. "She's gone, Remy. Ah'm not gonna tear you up or nothin'." 

"I'm startin' t'think you'd be doin' me a favor if you did, Chere."

"Very funny."

"I just don' tink dis is de place for us, not anymore."

"C'mon Cajun, we've never been stayin' in The Baxter Buildin' before."

"You know what I mean."

"Remy," Rogue turned, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to face her. "We're at war here. Everything's changin'. Again. We can't just back out and leave our friends behind. Not now. What if ah hadn't been here? What would Weapon X done t'Storm if she'd had the chance?"

"Would Weapon X have even been here if we hadn't broken y'all out anyway?"

"What _happened _to you while ah was in there, Remy? Ah thought you were an X-Man."

"Non, chere," Gambit looked into her eyes. "I'm just a man. A man who's in love and who's tired of fightin' just to live. I spent years tryin' to get you outta dat place -- and I didn' do dat so I could lose you again."

"Ah can take care of mahself, Gambit," Rogue stood.

"Wit her healin' factor."

"With her healin'... you selfish little... _God_, Remy.

"You think if we don't fight now we'll ever be able t'be together an' live a normal life? Maybe ah don't even _want _a normal life. Ever think about that? But either way things are never gonna go back _t'any _kinda normal if we don't do everything we can t'take down Tony Stark."

"Tony Stark," Gambit stood. "Tony Stark. Tony Stark. It's all you people care about!"

"You people?"

"I didn' mean it like dat, Rogue."

"Well why don't you figure out just what you meant," Rogue rolled her eyes, making her way to the door. "In the meantime, ah'm gonna try an' make a difference."

* * *

"Turn it up," Carol urged Sue, the woman on the television looking desperate. 

The news anchor grew louder as Susan complied. "The residents of Stamford are still talking about what's being heralded as another blast heard 'round the world today. Reports indicate..."

"What's goin' on?" Cain Marko entered the room, taking a seat on one of the stronger chairs next to She-Hulk.

"Shh!"

"...missed you too, Jen," he said under his breath, his eyes focused on the television above along with everyone else's.

"...Spider-Man was taken into custody just moments after disabling the bomb. Tony Stark has issued the following statement..."

Munroe stood as the screen shifted into Stark's face.

"This attack on Camp Hammond is exactly why we've pushed for registration, mutant and non-mutant alike. These men and women who continue to call themselves heroes make it more obvious each day that they're more of a threat than anything else."

"They were going to blow up Camp Hammond?" Jen asked.

"So it would appear," Munroe replied uneasily, returning to her seat.

"...even now, more of Parker's team are running the streets. If not Stamford, perhaps in _your _town. We're doing the best we can to track down these terrorists -- which is why it's more important than ever that each citizen in these United States keep a watchful eye, ready to alert your local Initiative team or your local authorities if you know _anything_."

The screen went back to the news anchor, various Initiative team headquarter phone numbers running on the scroll bar beneath her. "Stark also called for pivotal superhuman involvement in locating these terrorists -- calling on the likes of Susan Storm, former member of The Fantastic Four, asking her to quote, 'come to her senses when the people she fought for for years are in danger' -- and Queen Ororo Munroe, who Stark criticized earlier today for her lack of diplomacy in these critical, war-bound times. Reporting for..."

"I don't believe this," Walters spoke first. "This is insane."

"He's turning the tides in his favor," Carol replied. "He's always good at playing the press. We still don't know _what _happened. _Anything _could have happened -- he probably planted the bomb himself."

"Ororo," Hank McCoy called from a panel on the wall. "We have company."

* * *

"Stark's raided our old base," Vance Astrovik looked to the Beast and Storm, Madrox rubbing his head in the corner while Nori walked around The Baxter Building; she'd never been inside. "Spider-Woman... she's apparently gone over to their side, told them everything." 

"You have sanctuary here, my friend," Munroe replied.

"...and we know all about Spider-Woman," Carol Danvers entered the room, her eyes on her bandaged hand. "She came here with Weapon X."

"What?" Madrox stood. "That little--"

"--the problem has been dealt with, James," Storm turned. "And without an explosion."

"Vance was going to contain it," Madrox replied sharply. "It would've been fine."

"Mutantkind cannot afford 'would've'," Storm challenged. "This is bigger than your quest for revenge against Tony Stark."

"And yours," he glared.

"Stop arguing," Vance stepped between the two. "We're all we have left. Jessica's working with them and from the sound of it he knows exactly where you are -- and by default, where we would've been going if our base was compromised."

"We've diplomatic immunity here," Hank interjected. "With The Baxter Building serving as Wakanda's Embassy, there's very little Stark can do at the moment short of sending assassins under the radar."

"That's comforting," Surge turned back toward the group. "I was there when Weapon X took off Wolverine's head, Beast."

"And ah was there when ah took off hers," Rogue entered with perfect timing. "But we're still not safe here."

"No," Munroe looked to her friend. "_You _are not."

"Ororo?" Hank turned.

"Stark cannot touch me here," Storm began, "but if he believes Susan is harboring fugitives -- he'll find a way to enter these doors again. And this time he may find you."

"It is getting a bit crowded," Ms. Marvel asserted. "And how many of us can just waltz up to The Baxter Building before someone says something? We're leaving."

"And where are we going?" McCoy arched an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving you here, Ororo. It's too risky."

"It's time I handled this on a diplomatic front, Henry."

"You're going to allow Tony to scare you onto the streets?"

"I have no other choice," she replied. "My people are in jeopardy."

"And what about us?"

"Jamie..." Nori glared.

"I can do little as Queen if I do not protect my people," Storm looked to Madrox. "I will not let Stark scare this country into war with my own."

"Captain America used some of Nick Fury's old underground bases during the first wake of this Registration War," Carol noted. "I can take us to one of them -- Stark never found out about it."

"Sounds convenient," Jamie walked closer to Danvers. "Since you used to work for him and all."

Danvers grabbed at Madrox's shirt, pulling him closer to her. "I'm not the one who drafted Spider-Woman into this."

Electricity flew from Surge's eyes. "You're acting like children."

"It's settled then," Hank McCoy stood. "We'll move out -- Ororo can do more more for her country _and _mutantkind as Queen than she can sneaking around the streets as some sort of X-Man."

McCoy moved toward Madrox, "I trust Carol with my life, James," he grabbed him from Danvers' grip. "Though I'm not so certain I trust her with yours."

Hank winked at Ms. Marvel, a smile surfacing on her face after he did so.

* * *

"Mephisto won't be able to bail you out of this one, Peter," Tony Stark looked at Parker from the other side of a sheet of glass, shackles around his ankles and his wrists. "But I want you to know how grateful I am." 

"Anything to help," Peter glared.

"What did you honestly hope to accomplish?"

Parker said nothing.

"We're going to find your friends, Peter. Jessica already filled us in on using the Avengers Monument as a base. It's gone. They never showed up."

No reply.

"We know where they'll go, Peter. And once I've found proof -- substantial evidence that they're working with Storm, they're all going down. I'm going to make this world safe. I'd still like your help."

"What in the hell happened to you, Tony?"

"I grew up."

"Then I guess I'm a Toys 'R Us kid," Parker glared. "You're just a tyrant, desperately hoping that he can someday fill the shoes of Steve Rogers or Nick Fury."

"Steve?" Stark glared. "This has _nothing_ to do with Steve, Peter. And least of all Nick Fury. Crime has never been lower, the American people have never felt safer. We took care of Registration. We got a team in every fucking state."

Parker had hit a boiling point.

"We took down an entire _alien race _that had successfully infiltrated our ranks."

"I'm still surprised you weren't _one of them_," Peter glared back. "But I guess every supervillain had to start somewhere."

"Supervillain?!" Tony barked. "Do you think I enjoy locking up men and women who used to be my friends? It's the law, Peter; it's for the people you spent years trying to protect until you were ready to set off bombs for some sort of personal vendetta!"

"Bullshit."

"I didn't kill Mary Jane, Peter," Stark stiffened. "You did."

Parker leapt from his bench only to fall forward, the restraints locking his ankles together. He pulled himself up slowly, re-positioning himself. "Get out of here."

Stark turned, nodding to a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as he did so. "Let me know if you come to your senses, Peter. You were a hero today -- I'm not going to overlook that."

He walked to the doorway and stopped at the woman before him. "Agent Adler, I want you to keep a personal eye on Parker here."

Adler smiled, looking past Stark and into the cell holding Peter.

"Of course, Director."

* * *

**NEXT: **_Mystique keeps that watchful eye on Spider-Man... but will her eye wander? The Baxter Building compromised, who will follow Ms. Marvel to a new base of operations? And Storm takes a stand. Thanks for the great reviews -- they keep it comin'!! _


	8. forged alliances

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter eight: forged alliances _

* * *

Tony Stark sat patiently at his desk, his eyes wandering from the door in the far corner to the tiny frame which he kept to the left of his computer. He'd always laughed at the idea of having a computer in his office -- he really didn't need it. He had one right in front of his face almost twenty-four hours a day.

It was a wooden frame -- and within it seven faces, his own included, smiled back at him. 

Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, The Vision, Wonder Man and The Scarlet Witch. 

"We never saw it coming, did we?" he said softly before flipping the frame face down, standing moments later and walking to the window which gave his office "the view."

His head fell forward onto the glass of the Helicarrier, a loud sigh left his lips, and Tony Stark cried for the first time in over a year.

* * *

"So lemme get this straight," Cain Marko slumped behind Ms. Marvel, Beast, She-Hulk, Justice, Rogue, Madrox and Surge. "I'm sleepin', you fight Tony Stark and a crapload of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

"Uh-huh," Jen barely acknowledged him as the group walked down a dimly-lit tunnel.

"I'm sleepin' and Ms. Marvel here fights Spider-Woman, who's gone all crazy and is out for blood or somethin'…"

"That's right, Cain," Walters sighed.

"…and then…"

Rogue turned to face Marko as she stopped walking for a moment. 

"Then you're sleepin' and I decapitated Weapon X, Laura Kinney, who Tony Stark had re-programmed t'come in an' kill us all after she'd been frozen for years after killin' Wolverine _just in case _he ever needed somebody t'take down more of us mutants. Got it?"

"...got it," Marko shrugged. 

The group returned to silence, Carol Danvers in the lead, but only remained there a second when Cain spoke up yet again.

"And now that I'm awake, the human Juggernaut, we're crawlin' down a tunnel to hide somewhere?"

"Cain," She-Hulk turned, "I think it's just best if you don't speak for awhile."

"Yeah," Surge smiled. "It's way more eerie if we're crawling through a dark tunnel under the streets of New York if none of us acknowledge each other. I like that much better."

"Perhaps we could sing a song," The Beast grinned from ahead. After no one said anything, he did:

"Tough crowd."

"We're almost there," Carol stopped. She ran her hands along the solid steel wall, a green light illuminating from above them only seconds later. A tiny keypad rose from the ground and Carol entered a few codes. 

Then the "wall" slid apart -- light pouring into the tunnel. 

"We're in."

* * *

"I am worried about leaving you alone, Susan," Ororo Munroe sat next to her friend's hospital bed. A few robots whizzed about, conducting various chores and occasionally acknowledging the two women.

"I'll be fine, Ororo," Richards smiled. "Besides, I was doing just fine when I was alone. It's when you all showed up that things went to hell."

They laughed together before Storm placed her hand atop Sue's. "I do not know if I'll return."

"Don't talk like that."

"I wish no farther harm upon this place, Susan, nor to your reputation."

"The only thing you need to be worried about is making it back here before seven so that I can have dinner with someone," Sue smiled again. Ororo had never seen anyone smile that often from a hospital bed -- but she hadn't seen such a nice hospital bed before this week, either.

"I'll do my best," Ororo smiled back as she stood. She was dressed in a solid white gown, low cut in the front, backless -- several pieces of Wakandan jewelry hung around her neck. 

"You always do. Just look at that dress."

"I can hardly stop," Ororo laughed as she ran her hands along it. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Give my best to Tony," Sue lightly patted her bandaged stomach.

Munroe clenched her fist. 

"With pleasure."

* * *

"Ah just don't see why he left," Rogue sat on a large bench, She-Hulk taking a seat next to her. "If he was so worried about me bein' here, wouldn't he wanna -- I dunno... _be _here?"

"He's a man, Rogue," She-Hulk placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "And from the sound of it, he needs to be an _ex_-Man."

"Ouch," Rogue grinned up at Jennifer.

"...yeah, that was pretty bad," Walters laughed. 

"And what is that supposed t' mean?" Cain turned.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Jen rolled her eyes. "You're a man, too. I've been in the mood for six months and all you've done is sleep."

"Low blow."

"...Gambit will figure out whatever he has to figure out," She-Hulk turned back to Rogue. "And in the meantime, you're doing something worthwhile. We can finally put an end to Tony Stark's ... whatever this is."

"Ah know," Rogue sighed again. "We'd just been apart for so long... every time we're almost together, bam, somethin' horrible happens. It's like ah'm a superhero or somethin'."

"...I think I saw a cot on the way in here," Marko interjected.

"Well good," Jen turned. "You know where you'll be sleeping."

"Men," Rogue rolled her eyes before she and Jen started laughing again.

* * *

"I need you to tell me where you friends are, Parker," Agent Adler spoke from the other side of the glass in the small interrogation room holding Spider-Man.

"And I need you to get some Windex," Peter replied, nodding toward several spots on the window. "Can you _see _those on your side?"

"Listen to me closely," she barked, leaning in toward the window. She couldn't help but look at the spots. "You're going to die here unless you cooperate."

"Yeah," Peter quipped, "because the last time I checked Rogue and The Juggernaut both died here, huh? This place can't hold me."

"Fine," Adler sat back. "If not here, the Negative Zone Prison."

"That old thing? Please. I've seen it."

"Not version two," Adler glared.

"It isn't AOL," Spider-Man glared back. "Do prisons really have versions?"

"Very funny."

"...only in a Tony Stark world," Peter continued. "That guy is getting sicker and sicker."

"We're going to find them, Mr. Parker."

"See, now you're just sounding like The Matrix. And you're much prettier than that."

"Tell. Me. Where. They. Are."

"Get. Some. Windex."

"Do you know what terror-optics are?"

"The last I checked, Tony Stark hooks you up to some machine -- go figure -- and you have to relive the most horrible memories you have."

"You're headed toward a pair."

"Lady, listen," Parker leaned forward this time. "I've been through Hell and back. I even made a deal with one of the head honchos once -- and believe me, everybody suffered. You slip a pair of 'terror-optics' on me... _and I can't believe he actually named them that_... and it'll be more like a vacation than anything else."

"Gwen Stacy."

"Shut up," Parker glared harder.

"Your aunt."

"I told you to shut up," Peter struggled against his restraints.

"Mary Jane, just before you got to her--"

"STOP IT," Parker flew forward, his fists slamming through the glass and pulling Adler through it by the neck. She fell to the floor behind him, Parker looking at the broken shackles -- one half around each of his wrists.

"Good work," she looked up at him. 

"That shouldn't have happened," he reasoned. 

"You shouldn't have had regular handcuffs on," she stood, extending her hand. He grabbed it reluctantly.

"Waitaminute."

Their hands interlocked, Peter noticed her skin had gone blue for only a second. "Raven Darkholme, Peter. It's been awhile."

"I thought you had a certain mystique to you," he smiled. 

"We won't have much time. I hope you're ready for this."

"For escaping? I'm always ready."

"For sabotage, Peter," Mystique smiled as she handed him another loose pair of shackles, using one of her keys to unhinge the old pair. "I'm going to take you to your cell -- you're ready to talk. Put those on, I'll be back with Stark."

"And all before dinner."

* * *

The doors slid together behind Ororo Munroe, Tony Stark standing to acknowledge her. "Ororo."

"Tony," she said coyly. 

"Have a seat."

Munroe slid through the room, taking a seat opposite him as he sat back down at his desk. "Wakandan security is right outside."

"I'm not worried about them, Storm," Stark smiled. "They can't manipulate the weather."

"We both deal in terms of manipulation," Storm offered without a smile of her own. She surveyed him closely -- he wore a very different armor today: a black suit, an even blacker tie... and she couldn't help but wonder if he were even more dangerous in that.

Her thoughts subsided: _she _was more dangerous in the dress she wore than in a uniform.

"I'm glad you agreed to our little meeting," he watched her closely. "Can I get you a cup of coffee? Tea? Bourbon?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Storm replied. "Let us discuss the matter at hand."

"All business it is."

"You're corrupt."

"I assure you..."

"Assure me that you did not send a poor, confused girl -- or what's left of her -- to The Baxter Building in order to assassinate the Queen of Wakanda."

"I'm sorry?"

"Assure me that Susan Richards, who happens to live in the building which houses my Embassy, is not lying in a bed because she nearly died herself."

"Susan? Is she--"

"Assure me that what's left of mutantkind will not soon suffer the same fate as the countless mutants who've already died at the hands of your Sentinel program three years ago."

"Ororo, that was never supposed to--"

"...and finally, Tony, assure me that you aren't willing to bring war to the steps of my country to satisfy your need for more technology."

"Perhaps this _is _a bad idea."

"Perhaps it is, Tony," Ororo stood, turning toward the door. "And I can assure you, crossing me again will only be a worse one."

"Stop."

"Or what?" Ororo glared defiantly.

"If you go now, things are only going to get worse."

"If you try and stop me, they'll only get worse sooner."

"Think of your country, Ororo. I don't want war with them."

"No?" Ororo turned back at him. "Then why did you kill their King?"

"I didn't kill T'Challa, Ororo."

"Nor Reed Richards, then, correct?"

"I certainly did not kill Reed Richards," Stark slammed his fists into the table as he erupted from his seat. "Now SIT DOWN."

Storm's dress flew forward as wind darted freely from behind her, slamming into Stark at the end of his office until he connected hard with the window behind him. He winced.

"I do not take orders," electricity slipped from her eyes. "Least of all from you." Storm walked forward, the wind growing stronger. The computer flew from his desk, chairs and papers scattered, Tony struggling to move away from the window.

"Ororo, stop it."

The wind died down immediately. She'd recognized that voice.

"...Forge?!"

* * *

Hank McCoy stood upright, a small syringe in his left hand as he bounced through the room toward Ms. Marvel with glee. "This should be it."

"Should be?" Carol smiled uneasily. "I'm not going to turn blue or anything, will I?"

"You'll probably turn gray first, if history repeats itself," he smiled.

"You're hilarious."

"The tech here is absolutely stunning," McCoy spoke more to himself than to Carol. "That Nick Fury sure knew what he was doing, hm?"

"He just knew what he may have to do someday," Carol replied. "I'm not so sure I like this idea."

"I've taken samples of your DNA, Carol," Hank tried to reassure her. "At worst, nothing is going to happen."

"And some of Rogue's."

"...as I recall, yes," he sat her on an observation table. "But I believe the base of her powers, coupled with your DNA, has created incredible results in the past."

"For her," Carol winced as he stuck the needle deep into her arm.

"And now," McCoy smiled, "for you."

"Tony injected me with nannites, Hank," Carol continued to wince. "How is this going to help?"

"They'll force them out," Hank walked backwards, grabbing a small metal pipe from a table and handing it to her. "Bend this."

"I love it when you talk dirty," Carol grinned.

"And I love it when you bend this," he said eagerly. "...I suppose that's still dirty, hm?"

Carol grabbed the pipe at each end, and after a moment of struggling, nothing.

The two sighed in unison before Carol attempted to lighten the mood.

"Where in the hell did you get a pipe?"

* * *

"You're dead."

"I can assure you that I'm not," Forge smiled at Munroe as he walked toward her, Tony walking at Storm from the other direction. 

"I was there," Storm stiffened. "I saw you die... alongside Scott, Logan, Peter..."

"We need your help, Ororo," Forge stared into her eyes. God. Those eyes.

"We?" Storm took a step back.

"Forge and I have been working together for quite some time," Stark spoke up. Ororo had forgotten he was there. "He has an amazing gift."

"Tony isn't the bad guy, Ororo," Forge watched her closely. "Just imagine what we could do with Wakanda's help."

"Of course," Storm glared. "That really is what this is all about, isn't it? Wakanda's technology."

"Never invaded, never attacked," Tony looked to her. "It's a highly-intuitive culture."

"A culture which you nearly destroyed with the death of my husband," Munroe stepped away from the two. Forge winced at the last two words.

"Let me show you what we can do, Ororo," Forge took another step closer to her. "What we can do together."

"Step back," Storm warned, the two men walking closer and closer to her -- she was back against a wall.

Forge pulled a small remote from his pocket, a containment field raising from the floor and encasing Storm as he hit a single button on it. It was made of a clear, green energy -- and within moments had become form-fitting on Munroe.

Ororo struggled, unable to move -- she screamed, he proximity of the field too much for her to bare. 

"We'll talk when you're ready, then," Stark said softly as Munroe collapsed to the floor. "Thank you for the help, Agent."

Forge watched her hit the floor, his stomach hitting it with her. "Of course, Director. I'll be in my lab -- alert me when she wakes up, will you?"

Stark nodded. 

Forge left the room, passing Agent Adler as he did so. He couldn't help but note the look of shock on the agent's face.

"Director?"

"Agent Adler," Stark smiled, stepping in front of Munroe. He hit the button on the remote Forge had given him and the casing turned solid, leaving Munroe's form and resembling more of an elongated table. "You have to love Forge's work."

"Forge, sir," she began to sweat. "I... haven't seen him onboard before."

"You wouldn't," Stark replied. "I'm sure you're familiar with his file, being part of the Mutant Task Force and all... but he's cleaned up his act; he's one of the good guys now, not to worry."

"No," Adler replied. "Not to worry." 

"How's Parker?"

"He's ready to talk," Adler eyed the "table" behind Stark. 

"Agent," he watched her eyes, "it's best if you don't comment on what you've seen in this room."

"Of course, Director."

"This is phase one," Stark moved toward her. "Phase one of the world finally moving to where it needs to be."

"Of course."

Stark laughed, straightening his tie as he did so. "So let's go talk to Parker, then, shall we?"

* * *

**HOURS LATER**

"I just got word from Sue," Vance Astrovik began as he moved toward the group. "Storm hasn't made it back from the Helicarrier."

"Then we go after her," Madrox stood immediately. He hadn't spoken since the group had arrived at the underground base. 

"We can't assume the worst," Ms. Marvel tried to reason with them.

"An' why the hell not?" Rogue stood next to her. "We need t'take the fight up there anyway. Ah'm not gonna rot down here... and she's not gonna rot up there."

"We need to work on a plan," Carol narrowed her eyes.

"I've got one," She-Hulk cracked her knuckles as she stood.

"Jen Smash."

* * *

**NEXT:** _JEN SMASH! Thanks for the reviews -- they keep it comin'! _


	9. jen smash!

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter nine: jen smash!_

* * *

"Things are progressing very nicely," Tony Stark strolled down the hall of the Helicarrier alongside Forge. "We have them right where we want them."

"You think they know, then?"

"I oppose them," Stark stopped, looking Forge in the eye. "I don't underestimate them."

The two men resumed walking, Forge spending half the time listening to Tony and the other half thinking about Storm's dress.

"I take it you do, then, Forge?"

"...what?"

"Not listen."

"I'm sorry," Forge sighed. "I can't stop thinking about Ororo. It's been years since I've seen her in person."

"I hope your plans haven't changed," Stark kept his eyes forward as he moved down the hall.

"Not at all."

"Do you underestimate them, Forge?"

"Perhaps I do. But I pity them most of all."

Stark smiled. "And to think you once worked for Charles Xavier."

"And you," Forge returned the smile -- a power play between the two, "for Captain America."

* * *

**CAMP HAMMOND**

"Never should've trusted the kid," James Rhodes took a seat next to Hank Pym in Pym's laboratory. "Should've seen the whole thing comin'."

"We all should have, James. Don't beat yourself up."

"Not when I've got Justice and his lot to do it for me," Rhodes shook his head. "Have you heard from Tony?"

"This morning," Hank took a sip from his Avengers coffee mug. "He wanted to check in on the status of state-to-state jumps. Said he'd send Forge in if we couldn't 'swing it 'by tomorrow' or something to that effect."

"Swell guy," War Machine scoffed. "Swell guy."

"We all were, once," Pym said more to himself as he took another nervous sip. "Janet's doing better."

"Glad to hear it," Rhodes acknowledged briefly. "And what _is _the status?"

Yellowjacket arched an eyebrow. "They say she should be out of the hospital by Tuesday."

"And the Negative Zone gateways? How close are they to being fully repaired?"

"The gateways are ... we're working on it, Jimmy. We have a few done right now. Most of the east coast, actually -- but that's where we see the most activity, so we're well on our way."

"Good."

Pym glared at War Machine. "Janet..."

"...doesn't pay your bills, Hank," War Machine turned, making his way toward the door. "Tony Stark does."

"You're here to check on me, then?"

"The Xavier Protocols are no longer in government custody," Rhodes glared. "Justice was right under your nose for years."

"James," Pym laughed uneasily.

"Get to work, Doctor Pym. Or find it elsewhere."

* * *

"If you ask me," Madrox pulled his other glove tightly around his wrist, "she's just scared. I would be too... y'know, without any powers."

"And if you ask me," Nori glared at her would-be leader, "you're an idiot. That's a horrible thing to say."

"Storm's missing. She's practically the only leader mutantkind has left. And we're just sitting in this base, wasting our time, while she's God-knows-where."

"Then we must be God," Justice adjusted his cape. "Susan told us she was meeting Stark on the Helicarrier."

"Carol isn't our boss, Vance," Madrox stood. "And she isn't a mutant, either. Her heart isn't in this."

"The last ah checked," Rogue glared at him, "she gave up a pretty nice an' comfy position as Stark's right-hand man t'join a ragtag buncha misfits like us. Even busted me outta S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Y'know, while you were busy tryin' t'blow up Stamford."

"Rogue," Jamie tried to pacify her.

"Again."

"When did you two become best friends?"

"Ah guess when you became such an asshole," Rogue rolled her eyes. "We're headin' after Storm -- ah don't know what else you expect Carol t'do. Ah'm a little hesitant about goin' back up there myself, no matter how much tail ah'm ready t'kick t'find Ororo and end this whole mess."

The door in the center of the room opened, She-Hulk strolling into the room. "Tell me you're ready, girls."

Surge smiled, her eyes on Jamie and Vance.

* * *

"I'm glad you came to your senses, Peter," Tony Stark opened Spider-Man's cell -- his eyes shifting to the ceiling immediately when the room was empty. Peter leapt down, his foot offering a fond farewell to Stark before he darted from the room.

Stark leapt up instantly, speaking into his wrist watch. His voice echoed throughout the entire base:

"S.H.I.E.L.D. PRIORITY ALERT," it boomed. "Peter Parker has escaped -- take him down, by lethal force if necessary!"

Forge watched as Spider-Man bounced through the halls, Stark running forward and stopping at Forge's side. "He's fast."

"Thanks," Tony glared. "He couldn't have gotten out of those shackles alone, could he?"

"I designed them myself," Forge returned the glare. "I'm insulted."

Stark ripped the tie from around his neck, heading down the hall in the opposite direction toward his armor. "Stop him!"

Parker made his way through a ventilation duct, desperately trying to recall the directions Mystique had given him. A few moments later he found himself in Stark's office -- landing beside a rectangular table and running his hands alongside it in an attempt to find a turn-back-to-Storm button.

The office was still a mess -- the computer lay battered on the floor, a few fresh cracks in the windows, S.H.I.E.L.D. files covering the sparkling tile like confetti.

"C'mon," Parker said aloud. "Storm, are you in there?!"

"That's actually a table," Tony Stark sighed as he entered the room. "You have to--"

Before he could finish several balls of webbing slammed into his chest. He stumbled backwards, gasping and ripping the webbing from his neck as he fell to the ground. Within a few seconds Stark became Mystique.

"You moron!"

"Well how in the hell was I supposed to know--"

"--did your stupid-sense go off?!"

"Good point."

"Agent Adler doesn't often head into Stark's office unattended," Mystique stood. "I saw Stark heading toward your cell with Forge... I took my chances. Her containment unit is over there."

Mystique and Spider-Man moved toward the gray rectangle which held Storm -- and after a few moments the door Mystique had entered splintered inward, Iron Man's outstretched arm having ended its miserable life.

"You're both under arrest."

"Story of my life," Parker quipped, shooting a webline at the ceiling and flying toward Iron Man. A repulsor ray severed the line, Spider-Man flying forward but landing gracefully beside him.

Parker's fists flew but were no match for the armor which had studied Spider-Man's moves for years. Iron Man avoided most of his attacks, another blast nailing Peter in the chest and sending him to the ground next to the computer.

Mystique pulled a gun from the holster at her side, firing a few bullets toward Stark as she leapt to the ground, rolled, and fired a few more. The armor withheld the attack, Tony grinning from under his helmet.

"You'll have to do better than that."

"I like a challenge," Mystique stood.

"Stand down, Raven," Iron Man took a few steps toward her, ready to fire another blast from his armor.

"I don't think so," Darkholme grinned, shifting briefly into the guise of Agent Adler as she pointed her gun behind her and fired, blowing out the window and sucking both she and Parker backward, into the sky...

And right into Rogue's arms.

"You're heavier than ah remember!" Rogue screamed. "An' nice timin', by the way."

Parker buzzed back into existence. "No kiddin'!"

"I took a gamble!" Mystique yelled. "Though I'd planned to grow some wings."

"What about me?!"

"You shoot webs or something, don't you?"

"Carol's on board -- did you find Storm?"

Rogue flew backward, pulling her two "passengers" aboard a tiny cloaked Quinjet, standard issue, piloted by Hank McCoy.

"She's in Stark's office -- encased in something Forge created."

"Forge?" Hank turned.

"Forge," Mystique's eyes narrowed.

"But Forge is--"

"--dead, Madrox?" Mystique turned, wiping some blood from her cheek from some of the glass she'd blown out. "Turns out he's very much alive."

"As I hope _we'll_ remain," McCoy ignored the news. "The Quinjet's cloaking device was designed by S.H.I.E.L.D. -- I don't know how long we'll remain hidden."

"Ah got Carol and Jen aboard," Rogue took a seat next to the Beast. "An' Justice and Juggernaut should've already entered on the southside."

"So what're we waiting for?" Madrox stood -- just as a missile slammed into the Quinjet, McCoy struggling to keep it in the air as it began to plummet and the cloak failed.

The passengers bounced throughout the tiny craft, Iron Man hitting the Quinjet again and again as the Beast did everything he could to stabilize it.

"I've shut down your craft's weapons," Iron Man's voice resonated through the skies and over the transceiver. "Another blast like that last one and you'll either explode or hit the ground -- and since there are civilians that live in New York City, I'm going to ask you nicely to all just Turn. Yourselves. In."

"Ah'll show him what weapons he _didn't_ shut down, little rat," Rogue narrowed her eyes, moving toward the Quinjet door.

"Rogue, wait."

"For what, Hank? We're floatin' ducks. Any minute now an' he's gonna blast us outta the sky -- ah've gotta do somethin'!"

Iron Man levitated in front of the Quinjet, both locked in a game of immobile chicken, awaiting a response.

"He's keeping us afloat without any engine power," McCoy turned. "It must be some sort of tractor beam."

"Like Star Trek?" Surge asked.

"Yes, Nori," Hank forced a smile. "Like Star Trek."

"What's your point, McCoy?" Mystique asked impatiently.

"He wants us alive."

"He does?" Parker raised an eyebrow. "God I want my mask."

"And in turn, we need to be on that aircraft."

"We're going to turn ourselves in?" Parker sat forward. "I just got _out _of there!"

"You're welcome to jump out and hope for the best," Madrox moved forward through the craft, kneeling down beside Hank. "Do it."

"Now that I've your permission," McCoy mumbled to himself. "Alright, Stark. You win," he spoke into a com-link.

"Take us in."

* * *

Jennifer Walters ran through the crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, her fists locked together and slamming forward like a baseball bat. Men and women flew -- men and women Jen knew had wives, husbands, children.

She'd worked with these people for years.

"_Tough break_," she thought to herself as she batted away a few more. "You shouldn't just keep comin' at me! In case you haven't heard, the name's She-_Hulk_!!"

"I forgot how much," Danvers grunted, slamming her elbow into an agent's stomach before reaching behind her, grabbing them by their shirt and flipping them over her shoulder, "you... mmph... TALK when you're fighting, Jen!"

"If you think I talk a lot when I'm fighting," Walters grinned, grabbing an agent's wrist and slinging him across the room, "you should ask Cain about--"

"No thanks!" Carol decked another agent. "We need to get a few floors up -- Tony wouldn't have her on this level!"

She-Hulk stopped; most of the agents had either fallen or retreated. She waded through their unconscious bodies and grabbed Carol by the waist. "Hold onto me."

Danvers complied, Jen squatting down for a moment, grunting, and propelling off the ground and through the ceiling. Danvers regained her senses on the next floor up for only long enough for Walters to leap through another floor.

The two women looked around them -- they were in a Hangar Bay. Iron Man landed to their left, the battered Quinjet behind him.

"Carol?"

"TONY," Jen answered for her -- charging forward and leaping over several energy blasts which made their way from Stark's armor. She flew forward, tackling Stark to the ground before he could move.

The Quinjet door busted open, Rogue flying out; Spider-Man, The Beast, Mystique, Madrox and Surge following.

Iron Man's armor bent around Jen's fingers as they slammed through a window of the Helicarrier.

"Have you gone insane?!" Iron Man belted out as the two spiraled through the air. "I can't take all of this weight, Jen!"

"Now you're calling me fat?!" She-Hulk screamed, letting one arm go back for enough momentum to slam into his helmet -- sending them crashing back into the room with the others.

Walters grabbed at his chest-plate, tearing it from its host and sending it flying across the room. "I want you to look at me, Stark," Jen's eyes narrowed as she sat victoriously atop him, pinning him to the ground with ease.

Her other hand pulled at his helmet, a failsafe mechanism activating and releasing electrical energy until she fell backwards.

"You wanna play electricity?" Surge glared, rotating her wrists to the right as she brought her palms together and a moment later, releasing a bottled-up bout of electricity toward Stark, who'd already begun to stand.

Iron Man flew forward, slamming into the wall behind him. His armor sizzled, already damaged, Tony pulling the helmet from his face and gasping for air. He moved his arms forward, ready for a full-frontal assault, only the armor was no longer responding.

"Not so big an' bad without your suit," Parker smiled. "See, that's why I wasn't such a fan of the armor... I'd stick with good ol' fashioned spandex anyday."

"Shut up already," Surge glared back at him. "Where's Storm?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's in his office," Mystique took a few steps toward Stark. "Isn't she, Director? We need Forge."

"Where is he?" McCoy bounced closer to Stark.

"Listen very closely to me, Henry," Stark surveyed the blue mutant. "I'm only going to tell you this once."

"You're hardly in the position to talk," McCoy's eyes darted to and fro each of his friends. Madrox, Surge, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Mystique, Rogue and She-Hulk had him surrounded. He had only his damaged armor.

"Do you have any idea how many S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents are onboard this vessel?!" Stark hissed.

"Do you have any idea how many She-Hulks there are?" Jen growled from behind him. "Where in the hell is Forge?"

"I should be with them," Cain Marko growled as he followed Justice through the Helicarrier on the opposite end.

"Guess that just wasn't in the cards, Cain," Vance replied. "We're almost to the Control Room. We'll be able to take this thing down once and for all."

A telekinetic blast took care of the cockpit door, Marko charging in before Astrovik and ridding the room of conscious agents within seconds. Cain cracked his fingers as Vance strolled in. "Guess you haven't lost your touch," Justice smiled.

"Just make sure you tell Jen that, yeah?"

The two men laughed for a second before Justice moved to the controls. "Looks like Iron Man's activated some sort of -- oh my God."

"What?"

Hank McCoy's eyes darted above his group of friends and landed upon the ventilation ducts. Gas had begun to fill the room.

"As I was saying," Stark's twisted smile surfaced, "I'm only going to tell you this once."

Mystique's eyes darted to a door in the far corner, Forge's face visible through the window atop it. He looked away quickly as Raven fell to the ground -- followed by the Beast, Surge, Madrox and Rogue.

"...but nevermind, Hank," Tony grinned again. "I guess you aren't in the position to tal--"

Stark's words were cut short as She-Hulk's fists slammed into him again, Stark spinning backwards through the air. He landed hard on the ground, turning quickly to a panel in the wall behind him and pulling a large gun from it. It fired quickly at She-Hulk, Jen bouncing through the air to avoid the assault.

"What have you done to them?!" Carol demanded, turning to find Wonder Man entering the scene.

His eyes ran over the ground and stopped on The Beast. "Don't worry," Simon said slowly as he approached Carol -- Jen deflecting blasts with pieces of wall she'd torn from the walls behind them -- "they'll be fine."

"Simon, what are you doing?" Carol looked at her old friend. "How can you support all of this?"

"The same way you did, Carol. It's what's right. Tony only wants..."

"What do _you _want?"

"I want you to just surrender so that I don't have to make you."

Carol's eyes narrowed. She took a few steps toward Simon, running her hand down his face. Then she brought her knee up sharply, slamming it into his groin.

"Worry about yourself."

"A wonderful sentiment," Stark sent an energy blast from his canon rifle into Carol's back as Simon doubled over. Carol flew forward, slammed into a few storage crates and sat up as quickly as possible.

Spider-Man flew through the air at Stark, his spider-sense not enough warning for the blast which took him out. Carol stumbled up just in time to watch She-Hulk revert to Jen Walters, the stress of the blasts getting to be too much as what was left of Stark's armor began to repair itself.

He'd reattached his chest plate, sparks still sizzling, but it _really _had managed to repair itself. "_Forge_," Carol thought bitterly.

Stark pinned the human Jen Walters to the ground, the gun barreling down in her face. "I wish it didn't have to end like this, Jen."

Danvers ran forward -- _he was actually going to kill her _-- her fists ready, ready to do whatever she had to do...

And that's when she felt it. Seconds before she lunged forward at Stark's waist, they were back.

She hadn't even realized she was off the ground yet.

Ms. Marvel's arms wrapped around Stark's waist effortlessly, the two finding themselves mid-air as they flew out the window Jen had tumbled out of moments earlier.

Carol pulled back, releasing Stark -- whose weakened but functioning armor resumed flight nearly immediately.

"Your powers are back?"

"Yeah," Carol grinned. "I guess they are."

Danvers clenched her fists.

Inside, the gas had cleared -- and Forge entered the room quickly. He pulled at the Beast's arm, Simon Williams limping up to them.

"McCoy," Forge urged. "McCOY!"

"...stars and... garters," Hank pulled himself up. "What ... was that?"

"A strain of the Legacy Virus," Forge said quickly. "Get up."

"The Legacy Virus?!"

"It's non-lethal -- it temporarily disables mutants."

"You used a strain of The Legacy Virus on us?" Hank pushed him away, surveying his friends on the ground. "Where's Carol?"

"She's outside," Simon motioned, "with Tony."

"Then why are you in here?" McCoy glared but turned back to Forge. "And why didn't you just stay dead?"

A bullet slammed through Forge's stomach, the mutant dropping to the floor to reveal Mystique and a smoking gun behind him.

"He will now."

Wonder Man began to charge at Mystique -- but before he could get far Rogue had grabbed his wrist. Simon turned, Rogue shaking her head and lunging him through the room.

"We gotta get outta here."

Spider-Man pulled Surge and Madrox from the ground -- they were still unconscious -- but before even he could speak, Stark flew back into the Helicarrier, Ms. Marvel's fists behind him.

Stark struggled to pull himself back up as Carol's feet touched the floor in front of him. "Stay down, Tony."

"You won't win this. You can't."

"Carol," Hank moved toward her, "your powers..."

"Looks like Stark's tech isn't as wonderful as he thought it was," she glared down at him.

"...of course," Hank beamed. "They were triggered during a time of heightened emotional stress..."

"Rogue's DNA," Carol looked back at Rogue, who was helping members of their team onto the Quinjet.

"Fascinating."

"We'll have to save it for later, Hank. You're going to take us to Storm, Tony, or the Helicarrier is going down."

"You don't have the kind of--"

"No?" Carol glared down at him. "Vance," she spoke into her mouthpiece. "Take it down."

"Astrovik?"

"He's in the Control Room, Stark," Danvers dug her heel into his neck. "You have ten seconds."

The Helicarrier began to plummet, sweat falling from Carol's brow from the momentum as she and the others struggled to stand.

"Simon," Stark called out, Carol pulling her heel back. "SIMON."

Williams stirred from across the room, glaring at Rogue as he stood.

Stark's armor let out one final sizzle as Ms. Marvel pulled him up. She gave a nod to the Beast as he boarded the Quinjet. "I'll be right behind you."

"Let them leave," Stark nodded at Williams as the Quinjet rocketed from the hatch door. "Simon, take her to Storm. This isn't over, Carol."

"It never is."

* * *

The door to Nick Fury's base slid open, McCoy turning instantly at the sound. She-Hulk ran forward, wrapping her arms around the Juggernaut's neck. Vance Astrovik walked in behind him, immediately heading for the Beast.

The door clicked behind the two, Astrovik falling to the ground.

"Vance," Hank moved forward, "where are Carol and Ororo?"

"He let us go," Astrovik choked out. "He let us go to tell you we had twenty-four hours to turn ourselves in."

"What?" Rogue stood from behind them. "Ah told you we shouldn't have left them there!"

"Rogue, please," Hank pushed her back. "Vance, you have to tell me what happened."

"My God, Hank," Astrovik looked up at him.

"We don't stand a chance."

* * *

**NEXT**: _TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. What has Vance so spooked? What happened to Carol?? Thanks for the reviews, they keep it comin'!!_


	10. the iron ball, part one

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter ten: the iron ball, part one_

* * *

Susan Richards smiled into the mirror as she pulled her Fantastic Four uniform over her bandaged waist, shooing a few med-bots away from her as she did so.

"I'm fine," she assured them, making her way down to the Wakandan Embassy, knowing full well it should be as empty as the rest of The Baxter Building.

"I'm happy you could make it," Richards nodded as she closed the Embassy's door behind her and took a seat opposite of her two guests.

Benjamin Grimm smiled back at her. "Ahh, Suzie, cut the crap and gimme a hug."

As The Thing pulled Susan from her chair and into his arms, she winced -- her wounds were only _nearly _healed. After a moment, though, there were other wounds of hers that had healed completely.

* * *

**STARK TOWER**

"They have sixteen more hours," Tony Stark patrolled the room. "Sixteen hours to either give themselves up -- or have us take them."

"You really think it's going to pan out that easily?" Wonder Man arched an eyebrow.

"I don't think Tony's gonna let it go either way, Simon," James Rhodes smiled at his friend. "Are ya, Tony?"

"Failure isn't an option here," Stark replied crisply. "They've managed to attack the Helicarrier several times, they've eliminated one of our assassins..."

"Eliminated?" Simon turned. "You mean..."

"Assassins?" Spider-Woman arched an eyebrow of her own. "That's funny, Tony. You called her an Agent when you and I talked."

"She's dead," Stark ignored them both. "And on top of that, they're responsible for countless billions."

"Your armor?" James asked.

"His pride," Wonder Man mumbled to Spider-Woman, the two looking on unenthusiastically.

"She-Hulk and Justice have both defected," Stark narrated, "and taken with them countless fugitives. Rogue. The Juggernaut. They're working with murderers."

"Stop me if I'm wrong," Jessica Drew stepped forward, pulling her Spider-Woman mask over her face and through her hair, "but didn't you just say that you sent an assassin after them?"

"Yes, Jessica," Stark glared at her, "I sent an assassin after them -- one that _you _hand-delivered. So if you have any other questions..?"

"I just got one," a voice called from outside of the room. The small group turned, the doors parting and revealing Remy LeBeau.

"Where do I sign up?"

* * *

"Ah say we just go in and start blowin' stuff up," Rogue spoke from behind her large cup of coffee.

"Yes," Madrox rolled his eyes, "because that worked _so well _last time."

"And how would you know?" Rogue glared at him. "Ah barely remember seein' you there."

"I was doing recon."

"Recon this."

"We don't have time to fight," She-Hulk sighed loudly. "Vance will barely talk to us. Whatever Tony did to him he's going to find a way to do to us."

"Or he's already done to Ms. Marvel or Storm," Surge added.

"And Cain, Jennifer? What did Cain say happened?"

"He didn't, Hank," she sighed again. "I can barely get a word out of him, either."

"Uhh," Spider-Man spoke up from the corner, "does anyone remember that red over there put a bullet through someone's stomach?"

Mystique's eyes narrowed. "His name was Forge."

"I've met him," Peter sat forward in his makeshift web-hammock. "So does anyone remember that?"

"While her methods weren't quite... favorable," the Beast began, "they aren't methods we've been given the time to question."

"Are you kidding? She killed somebody!"

"Forge was once a friend of mine," McCoy bit his cheek. "But that was long ago."

"So we're condoning this?"

"No," Mystique pointed her gun at Parker, "but you're still alive because of it."

"I would've been fine."

"Of course," she sheathed her gun again.

"Ah don't like it either -- but Forge pumped the room full'a The Legacy Virus... or somethin' pretty damn close. Ah couldn't even breathe."

"A strain, he said," Hank shook his head. "A gas which temporarily disables mutantkind. A terrifying thought."

"What's terrifying," Jen stood, "is that we don't know what else he and Forge came up with. And that we're giving him time right now to come up with something even worse."

"I would like to run some tests -- I've already run a few on myself," Beast noted. "Especially on you, Jamie."

"Don't say it."

"It's obviously crossed your mind."

"I'm fine, Hank," Jamie sat forward in his chair.

"As fine as ever," Rogue shot Nori a look.

"What? What is it?" Jen looked at the group blankly.

"One of Jamie's duplicates -- dupes, I believe he prefers," McCoy stood, "died of The Legacy Virus some years ago. Any re-introduction of the Virus, strain or not, could potentially--"

"--I said I'm fine," Madrox stood, throwing his chair back as he stood and made his way out of the room.

Surge sighed, charging out after him, the others remaining silent for a moment, unsure of what to do or say.

"Well," Spider-Man laughed uncomfortably, "that was awkward."

Mystique brought her hand to her forehead, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "You just never stop talking."

* * *

Carol winced as she pulled at the restraints around her wrists. They were silver, locking her against a thick metal sheet and propping her at an angle as if she were on display.

She sighed, defeated -- she'd only just gotten her powers back, somehow, and now she felt just as powerless. Danvers glanced to her right -- a similar sheet of metal, similar restraints: Storm.

"Ororo," Carol whispered. The room was dimly-lit -- it felt as if the two were alone, but Danvers had no doubt they were being monitored.

No response.

Her eyes were closed. She was breathing.

Wasn't she?

"No sense in struggling, Carol," Tony Stark's voice echoed through the room. "You may have noticed a slight discomfort in the back of your neck -- essentially you've been... well, plugged in."

"Excuse me?"

"There's a tiny cord running from the platform behind you into your brain."

"You and your tiny cords," Carol looked frantically around the room. He wasn't there.

"The feed powers the restraints around your wrists, ankles and waist. The harder you struggle, the stronger they become. It's really best if you just stay still."

"So what clever name did you come up with for this one, Tony?"

"It doesn't need a name," his voice continued to echo. "It's just something that was created to ensure that I win."

Danvers stifled her uncomfortable laughter.

"And I will win, Carol."

"I can't help but feel, _Tony_," Danvers thrashed her wrists, the restraints reacting accordingly, "that you're really, really, _really _going to regret this."

Stark's laughter sent chills through Carol's spine.

"We'll see."

* * *

"He's holding Carol prisoner," Wonder Man shook his head. "Carol. Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers. Isn't that registering with you people? He's holding Carol prisoner and we have to go downstairs for some sort of ... dance?"

"Yes, Simon," The Black Widow said from the corner, her eyes trained upon Remy LeBeau. "She is being held prisoner. Carol Danvers, a prisoner. Perhaps you'd like me to remind you why that is."

"So glad you could join us," Williams looked away.

"I'm tired of fightin'," LeBeau nodded.

"Not you," Simon shook his head. "And for the record, I don't trust you half as far as I could throw you."

Spider-Woman and LeBeau exchanged glances as Wonder Man left. "Seems like Tony'll let anyone join his little cause."

"Even dose willin' t'betray dere friends, non?"

"What is it you'd call what you're doing, Gambit?"

"Lookin' out for 'em," LeBeau took a seat. "De keep up de way de are... an' poof, de lose everyt'ing."

"That's the smartest thing I've heard in months," Natasha Romanov took a step closer to him, her long rifle still in her hands. "But I'll be watching you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Gambit grinned as Romanov made her leave. War Machine had left several moments before, leaving Gambit and Spider-Woman alone in the room.

"So dis is what it's like, your little meetin's?"

"Yeah," Jessica ran her hand through her hair. "This is what it's like."

As the door sealed shut behind Romanov, Gambit drew a knife from his sleeve, charged it and launched it at Drew.

She flipped through the air, landing on top of him and pinning him to the ground. She grabbed at his own staff, resting it upon his throat with her knees on each of his wrists.

"I thought you'd wait a little longer before a betrayal."

"Wish I could say de same, chere," Gambit winced.

"Wish I could say de same."

* * *

Carol's eyes darted forward to Remy LeBeau -- things were looking up... until Spider-Woman entered behind him, the cajun with both a limp and two cuffed wrists.

Drew avoided Carol's eyes. "You have a visitor."

"Good work, Remy," Danvers said lowly. LeBeau shrugged his shoulders.

"Tony's gone -- I'm supposed to hook Gambit up to one of these," Jessica pushed him forward, his wrists still shackled.

"Ororo," Gambit looked at his friend, still unconscious and strapped in next to Ms. Marvel. "Is she alright?"

"She's a claustrophobe, Gambit," Ms. Marvel glared down at him. "She's been locked away for hours, days, I don't know... and now she's attached to whatever-the-hell these things are."

"So dat's a no?"

Spider-Woman pushed Gambit ahead of her again. "Listen," she sighed. "I'm supposed to strap Gambit up to one of these."

"We heard you."

"You're the thief, right?" Drew looked at LeBeau.

Gambit's eyes met Carol's, a tiny grin surfacing on her lips.

"You have about twenty minutes. I've disabled the alarms attached to the systems -- attached to this wing," Drew looked away as she sent a venom blast at LeBeau's shackles.

They broke apart instantly, Gambit rubbing his wrists and turning to Spider-Woman. "I knew you--"

"--save your breath," she interrupted. "Twenty minutes. Hit me."

"What?"

"I can't take on War Machine, The Black Widow, Wonder Man and a shitload of agents, LeBeau. _Hit me_."

* * *

Tony Stark nodded as a slew of guests entered the banquet room of his tower. Ballroom music played softly in the background as he made his way to the podium, nodding to the President and sidestepping several caterers.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming," he spoke into the microphone. "This couldn't be a success without your hopefully-more-generous-than-last-year's contributions."

The crowd laughed amongst themselves as Stark continued. "Our effort in Wakanda is finally coming to an end -- we've struck a deal. And within the next day things should be completely finalized."

Music continued to play.

"Speaking on behalf of her country," Stark stepped aside, "is Queen Ororo Munroe."

The crowd broke into applause as Ororo Munroe seemingly made her way to the podium next to Stark, smiled at him, shook his hand, and began to speak.

"Wakanda is a thriving nation," she began. "And as head of such a thriving culture, Tony and I have decided to combine our efforts -- to take the safety S.H.I.E.L.D. provides the world -- and only enhance it. We aim to create a world, a registered world, that is safe for _everyone_. Human, mutant --"

"What in the hell?" Susan Richards spoke, her long, soft navy gown flowing down her body with ease.

Ben Grimm leaned into her ear. "I thought we was here t'bust her out?"

"That's what Gambit should be doing now," she replied, pulling away from him as Tony Stark approached the two.

"Ben Grimm," he smiled, his arms outstretched and coming in for a hug. "In the flesh."

"Thanks ta you," Grimm stated uneasily -- Sue looking away with disgust.

Ben ran his hands through his hair. "Still ain't used ta that."

"And Susan," Stark turned. "Happy you could make it.'

"I got the invitation from my sickbed," she smiled at him. "The funniest thing, nearly being gutted."

"All that's behind us," Stark placed his hand on her shoulder, Susan's eyes following it until it rested there. "Have you spoken with Storm?"

"No," she grabbed his hand, throwing it off. "I have not."

* * *

"I wish you would've let me do it," Carol watched Spider-Woman hit the ground. "I really would've liked to do it."

"Ain't got time, chere," Gambit moved closer to her, running his hand along the silver restraints which bound her. "'Sides, I t'ink we got plenty a'fightin' t'do yet."

"I agree," Storm spoke up from the next restraint, her loose white hair damp with sweat. "Quite heartily."

"Ororo!"

"I am fine, Carol," Munroe coughed out. "Remy -- get us out of here."

"Glad you dressed for de occasion, 'Ro," Gambit smiled. "Sue's down at de event wit' Ben -- t'ings are goin' nicely, de last I heard."

Munroe nodded.

"Wait," Carol looked at him, Gambit tinkering with the restraints. "Things are going nicely?"

"Oh," LeBeau grinned. "You didn't really tink we didn't have a plan, did you?"

"A plan which went somewhat sour, I'll admit," Ororo struggled, her restraints growing tighter. "But a plan nonetheless."

"Guess I underestimated you," Carol looked over at her friend, then down at Gambit. "And even you."

"De ladies," Remy grinned, "de're always surprised for some reason."

The restraints hissed open, Gambit stepping back as Ms. Marvel broke off the rest of them. Her muscles flexed against the pull -- but Gambit had weakened them enough for her to do something quite Marvel-ous.

Carol flew over to Storm, grabbing at the restraints as electricity surged from Ororo's eyes. Moments later, she was free, Carol helping her to the ground.

Gambit, Ms. Marvel and Storm turned, an unlucky S.H.I.E.L.D. agent standing in the now open doorway. A knife slammed into his gun, exploding seconds later in his face -- the agent falling to the ground.

* * *

LeBeau grabbed his ear. "Sue, what's goin' on down dere?"

Richards nodded at Stark. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I went to powder my nose, Tony."

"Of course not," he smiled back at her, a watchful eye on the ear piece beneath her hair.

As she moved away, Ben placed his large hand on Stark's shoulder this time. "So it's been awhile... let's catch up, yeah?"

"Sue?" her ear-piece buzzed again as she made her way to the restroom.

"I'm here," she spoke softly. "Is Storm with you?"

"Yeah," it buzzed back. "I got Carol an' Ororo right here."

"That's funny," Richards glanced across the room at Munroe, who was laughing and drinking a glass of champagne. "I'm looking at Ororo right now. Ben has Stark distracted -- but I don't know how much longer I can wear this dress."

"An' you looked so pretty in it," Gambit teased from upstairs.

"Just once," she spoke slowly, "I'd like to wear a dress to an event that I don't have to tear off to break someone's face. Meet me downstairs."

* * *

Gambit looked back to Storm and Ms. Marvel. "Did you know Sue Storm, de Invisible Woman, says 'break someone's face?'"

"Gambit, what did she say?"

"Looks like we got an' Ororo up here," he tucked the ear piece behind his hair, "an' an Ororo down dere."

"What has he done?"

"Stark outlawed cloning years ago," Carol tried to comfort Storm. "It's probably robotic. Do we have any idea what's going on downstairs, Gambit?"

"I ain't been here dat long," Remy looked at her, "but--"

"--Stark has organized a fundraiser for his efforts," Ororo stepped forward. "It was his hope that this would draw Wakanda and the United States together in supposed peace, siphoning even more money from the government he's protecting to continue to do so."

"Really?" Carol arched an eyebrow.

"Susan received her invitation last week, as one of Camp Hammond's key investors."

"So who're we looking at here?"

"A lot of de bigwigs," Gambit removed his coat and began to remove his uniform. "De Widow's here -- Wonder Man, War Machine, Stark 'imself, obviously.. Worthington."

"What are you _doing_?"

"Right now, Stark tinks I'm on his side," Gambit revealed that he was wearing a tuxedo shirt beneath his garb. "I'm gonna go get Sue -- get her outta here, you take Storm an'--"

"No."

Marvel and Gambit turned to Storm, still dressed in her white gown. She pulled her hair back. "This ends now."

"Ororo, de President of de United States is down dere."

"So am I."

"Ororo's right," Carol nodded. "This has gone on long enough."

"Remy," Storm ripped the slit in her leg to her waist, "can you contact the others?"

"I'll give you the security codes -- you'll be patched through to the base," Carol offered.

"Den yeah."

"Tell them they're needed at Stark Tower."

LeBeau looked to the lifeless Spider-Woman on the floor. "Damn. Somet'in tells me we coulda used her."

"So she could've used us," Carol glared at her.

Storm moved forward, grabbing Gambit's communicator. "Susan," she spoke into it urgently. "It's Ororo -- we're going to need a very large forcefield."

* * *

Richards smiled as she walked back up to a Stark-less Ben Grimm. "Tell me you won't be naked if you change into The Thing."

"I'm a big guy, Suze," Ben smiled. "I think there'll be somethin' left afterwards. I thought I was here just incase?"

"Things are going to get complicated."

"Big surprise."

Sue nodded with a smile, moving past him and walking towards Stark's Ororo Munroe. "_Please don't be Mystique_," she thought to herself, wrapping her arms around Storm as her "friend" acknowledged her.

"Excuse me, Mr. President," Storm nodded.

"Ororo," Sue continued to smile. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it. Things went well with Stark?"

Across the room, Stark listened in on their conversation -- he was patched directly into Forge's final creation.

"They went well," he softly moved his lips from behind the punchbowl, Ororo's voice emanating a response to The Invisible Woman. "We've finally reached our agreement."

"That's wonderful," Richards looked to the large staircase in the room's center. "Join me in the ladies room?"

"There is much to do, Susan," Storm replied. "Why don't I meet up with you later?"

"There is no later," Sue smiled warmly as an invisible bubble surrounded Storm's head, cutting off oxygen supply.

Ororo laughed. "And why not?"

Richards narrowed her eyes, moving them across the room to Stark, who was watching intently. If Munroe didn't need oxygen...

Sue glared at Stark, their eyes locking for only a moment.

"_Fine_."

The force field launched across the room, Storm's neck sizzling with energy as her head left it. The surrounding crowd screamed, Ben Grimm busting from his tux in the middle of the room and transforming into The Thing.

"Everyone, get out of here!" The Invisible Woman screamed, erecting a large force field just below the perimeter of the ceiling. Moments later the lights flickered, electricity crumbling the room's top -- the contents of the floor above spilling into Richards' force field.

Electricity swirled across Storm's body as she lowered herself to the ground, the only music playing: the crowd's screaming as they ran for the nearest exits. The President's security scattered as they removed him from the room, Stark's "sleeper agents" moving through the crowd at Munroe and The Invisible Woman.

"You have gone too far!" Storm's voice boomed over the crowd's screams, her finger outstretched at Stark.

"My God," Stark stood frozen.

The wind picked up, a lightning bolt slamming into Tony and sending him flying backward.

Wonder Man flew through the air toward Stark, The Thing grabbing his leg as he did so. "Hate ta do this to ya, bud!"

The Thing wrapped both of his hands around Wonder Man's ankles, spinning in a circle and finally letting him go in time for him to slam into War Machine, who'd already armored up.

The two flew into the wall next to the base of the steps, a tuxedo-clad Gambit watching with a grin as he left the staircase. "Now why'd ya have Gambit get all fancy if you weren't gonna wait?!"

The Invisible Woman only smiled back at him as she deflected a barrage of bullets from The Black Widow's guns with a force field. Ms. Marvel flew in from the ceiling, having given Storm enough time to make her grand appearance, grabbing at Natasha and sending her flying across the room as well.

The Invisible Woman, Storm, Ms. Marvel, Gambit and The Thing moved closer to one another, standing back-to-back in the center of the room as War Machine, The Black Widow and Wonder Man began to move closer.

Stark's Iron Man armor flew into the room, attaching itself with ease. Tony moved forward alongside his team.

"You've ruined my party."

"If y'ask me," Gambit grinned, "looks like de party's just about t'start."

**NEXT:** _The Iron Ball, part two -- **STORM vs. IRON MAN**! Make sure you get your invitation -- the reviews keep it comin'! (And thanks!)_


	11. the iron ball, part two

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do? _

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter eleven: the iron ball, part two_

* * *

The Quinjet ripped through the skies of New York City, Hank McCoy at the helm. Rogue paced the length of the craft behind him, She-Hulk, Juggernaut, Surge, Madrox, Spider-Man and Mystique strapped in on each side of her.

"How long's it been since Remy's transmission, Hank?"

"Seven minutes, Rogue," McCoy replied, his eyes on the skies in front of him. "One minute longer than the last time that you asked."

"Sit down, Rogue," Mystique called from her seat. "We aren't going to get there any faster. It's a miracle Spider-Man was ready so quickly as it is."

"I have needs," Peter cocked an eyebrow as he pulled his mask over his face. "I have a routine."

"I forgot how you superhero types are," Mystique rolled her eyes.

"You've been rather heroic lately yourself, Mystique," She-Hulk called from the other side. "Y'know, except for the Forge thing."

Madrox coughed, bringing one hand to his stomach and the other to his face as he continued to do so.

"I'm fine," he sighed, most eyes on him. "I have a cold."

"Superheroes don't get colds," Surge forced a smile, trying to break some of the tension.

"I'm not a superhero," Madrox looked out the window.

"Eight minutes," Hank answered Rogue as she approached him again.

* * *

The two groups remained at a standstill -- The Invisible Woman, The Thing, Storm, Gambit and Ms. Marvel remaining back-to-back; Iron Man, War Machine, Wonder Man and The Black Widow approaching them from all angles.

"You can't win this," Iron Man broke the silence. "Not this time."

"Speakin' a time," The Thing narrowed his eyes, "It's clobberin' ti--"

As The Thing lunged forward, War Machine nailed him with a repulsor ray -- Grimm flying back through the room and hitting the ground hard. It curved around him, the former Fantastic Four member quickly getting to his feet and charging forward again.

Gambit sent several charged knives through the air toward War Machine, another blast taking them out as quickly as he'd thrown them; three explosions erupting between the two men. Ms. Marvel flew forward, her fists connecting with Wonder Man's as he began to charge. They knocked each other backward, each spiraling in the opposite direction.

The Invisible Woman threw her hands into the air, a force field surrounding both she and Storm as The Black Widow's bullets crunched into it seconds later.

"Afraid to fight me?" The Widow mocked as the ground raised beneath her, sending her crashing to the floor. The Invisible Woman stepped forward, another burst of energy slamming into her opponent and knocking her back.

"Not really," Susan grinned. "No."

* * *

Spider-Woman sighed, pushing the hair from her face as she stood. She rubbed her jaw lightly. "Guess he has no qualms about hitting a lady."

Drew surveyed the floor -- there wasn't much of it left, sounds of repulsor rays, kinetically-charged objects and super-powered beings at one another's throats coming from below her.

She tiptoed to a break in the floor, peering below: she had a choice to make.

* * *

Lightning slammed into Tony Stark's armor, Iron Man slamming into the wall on the other side of the room. "This is _our _fight, Stark!"

"Surely you don't mind," Stark stumbled up, "that I invited some friends, Ororo." His armor shot him into the air, repulsor rays flying toward Storm as another of The Invisible Woman's shields took the brunt of its attack.

The Thing slammed into War Machine, Rhodes' armor sizzling as the two hit the ground. James pushed The Thing back with a blast from his palms, struggling to stand as the armor on his back shifted around him, revealing two very large cannons.

"You wanna play, Ben?"

"Let's," The Thing glared, charging forward again -- only to be sent flying the room's length again under War Machine's assault.

Ms. Marvel's fist slammed into Wonder Man's for round two, the former Avengers propelling off each other just as before. They stood their ground, glaring at each other. "We can't keep doing this, Carol."

"You're right," she said simply, her fists lunging into the air above her as she flew backwards and pummeled into The Black Widow; the Russian's guns flying into the upward. Danvers moved quickly, grabbing at the guns and snapping them in two. "Susan!"

Richards turned, sending a force-field through the air at Wonder Man -- Williams too distracted by Carol's sudden change of attack to notice. The invisible wall hit him directly in the face and followed him to the ground. Two cuffs formed around each of his wrists, a third around his legs.

"You stupid little--" The Black Widow began, running at Ms. Marvel until Gambit's staff slammed into her ankle, LeBeau grabbing and holding her waist as he leapt by. The spy flipped through the air, turning and staring down LeBeau.

"Natasha, right?" Gambit smiled. "It's Remy."

The Widow gritted her teeth, pulling at her belt to grab one of her explosives. She looked down, finding it warm to the touch -- and glowing with kinetic energy.

"Boom," Gambit grinned again as her own explosive detonated in her hand. When the smoke cleared, The Widow didn't stand.

"Tony?" War Machine looked back at Iron Man.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents are on their way," Iron Man stepped forward -- he and War Machine now standing next to one another opposite Ms. Marvel, Gambit, Storm and The Invisible Woman.

"You will not intimidate us," Storm replied.

"I'm not trying to intimidate you," Iron Man glared at her through his helmet. "I'm warning you. Stand down now -- we'll go easy on you."

"I don' t'ink it's gonna work dat way, Mon Ami," Gambit spun his staff in his hands.

"You think I'm going to let you go... is that it?"

"Dat'd be a nice start."

"No," Storm stepped in front of Gambit. "No, it would not. This ends today."

Storm's hands rose into the air, winds swirling around them. Lightning sizzled in the two visible, although small, tornadoes which swirled around each of her hands. She looked forward, eyes white, bringing her hands together as they shot forward at Stark and Rhodes. "THIS ENDS NOW!"

Each of the men fell back as the tornadoes grew larger, spinning them uncontrollably. Stark and Rhodes found their armor inoperable as rain began to pour into the room.

Carol lifted her foot from the collecting water. "Storm?"

Munroe did not reply, stepping forward toward the two men who were now spinning in their own personal hells -- trapped inside their armor, trapped inside of Storm's fury.

The tornadoes began to collect objects from the room, growing larger and larger. Lightning struck as the rain continued to pour. War Machine flew from his twister, slamming into the several inches of water on the ground, unable to sustain the weight of his lifeless armor.

He pulled the helmet from his face, his eyes connecting with Munroe's for only a second as a lightning bolt hit him straight in the back. He screamed, his body rocketing up and down as the lightning and the water interacted, merging together to electrocute him.

"Ororo, stop it!" Susan jolted forward, Munroe turning instantly and sending a gust of wind back at her friend. Richards fell back, Ms. Marvel catching her.

"Storm!"

"These men are not who they appear to be -- Forge, he helped them create something else... they are no more human than the duplicate they created of me."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Stark called after the winds around him had ceased, Storm dedicating her attention to Rhodes.

The armor clicked away from Stark's body, falling effortlessly into the puddle beneath him. The rain continued to slam into his face as he limped forward.

"What have you done?"

The rain stopped, the winds ceased, and Ororo Munroe towered over the lifeless body of James Rhodes.

"This is justice?!"

Munroe's eyes slid back to blue as she lowered her hands. Stark waded toward her; Richards, Ms. Marvel, and Gambit standing behind her silently.

"Look at him, Ororo," Stark glared at his friend's body, smoke still pouring from what was left of it. "Look at what you've done."

"...goddess," Storm muttered, turning back to her friends, standing awestruck, and then back to Stark.

"Is this what you're offering mutantkind, Ororo? This is your safety in Wakanda? This is why you've enlisted Susan over there, endangering not only _her _life but the lives of her _children_?"

"I forgot how innocent you are," Gambit spoke up, pushing his way through the water on the floor which had begun to subside. He stopped at Munroe's side, glaring at Stark. "You must've too."

"No," Storm pushed her friend back. "He is right."

Munroe turned back to War Machine's body. "James was a ... good man..."

Stark ignored her, making his way to Rhodes.

The group looked up at the sound of the Quinjet above them -- the ceiling now completely gone, leaving nothing but open sky. Rogue flew from it instantly.

She landed beside Gambit, surveying the destruction in the room and looking to any of them for any inkling as to what was going on.

Stark cradled his friend's remains, ignoring the group. Rogue stepped forward, grabbing Ororo's wrist. "C'mon," she said uneasily. "Let's get outta here."

* * *

The Quinjet was silent.

Rogue sat next to Gambit, his hand in hers. Ms. Marvel stared into the sky as the craft ripped through the clouds. The Thing, now only Ben Grimm, rested his hand on Susan's thigh.

Spider-Man and Mystique sat next to one another uneasily, Darkholme polishing her gun with his mask.

She-Hulk had taken a seat next to Hank in the front, Surge behind them watching a sleeping Madrox with care. Storm stood in the very rear, her tattered dress making its way to the floor as if it were trying to get away from her.

McCoy steadily landed the jet on the roof of The Baxter Building, opening his mouth but finding very little to say. Richards broke the silence.

"I think it's best if..."

"There is no need, Susan," Storm turned, taking a few steps toward her friend who'd begun to stand, Grimm at her side. Sue and Ororo stared at one another for a second before wrapping their arms around one another.

"Goodbye," Sue pulled back, her hand leaving Ororo's backside as she walked past her, nodded to the others in the craft and made her leave.

Grimm paused at the hatch. "Good luck to you's."

And he was gone.

The Quinjet made its way back into the air -- away from Susan, away from The Baxter Building -- away from what little stability the group had come to know.

They touched base at Nick Fury's secret headquarters within ten minutes, filed out, and made their way to their separate rooms.

No one would speak that night -- but few of them would sleep.

* * *

"Goooooooooood morning," Peter Parker smiled as he entered the common room of their secret headquarters. "Any coffee?"

"Yeah," She-Hulk turned, "I think there's a Starbucks somewhere in here."

"No coffee, then," Peter sighed, taking a seat at the small table where Walters was sitting.

A few minutes later Peter's door, visible from the common room, crept open yet again -- Mystique coughing lightly and make her way away from the area.

She-Hulk arched an eyebrow, looking Parker up and down immediately after. He said nothing, a grin surfacing on Jennifer's face. "Gonna talk about that?"

"You slept with _The Juggernaut_."

"Point taken," Walters laughed. "At least not _all _of us missed the action last night."

"That's enough," Peter sighed. "So speaking of last night... when are we gonna find out what it is we missed, exactly?"

"I don't know," Jen folded her newspaper. "But don't you think it's weird that somebody delivers newspapers to our 'secret' H-Q?"

"...guess I never thought about it," Peter shrugged. "You think they deliver coffee, too?"

"They don't," Carol walked into the room, her hair still wet and an olive robe draped around her. "Was that _Mystique _leaving your room?"

Spider-Man ignored her. "What happened last night, Carol?"

Danvers bit her lip. She could still see James Rhodes' twisted, lifeless corpse -- she could still smell the melted steel, his flesh... there wasn't even any blood; it had either been too hot or the water had washed it away.

"Carol?" She-Hulk leaned forward.

"...sorry," Ms. Marvel replied, taking a seat next to the two of them. "I don't even know where to begin."

"The beginning, usually," Peter grabbed the newspaper. "Can you believe they still publish The Bugle?"

"James Rhodes is dead."

"What?" Jen sat back.

"Ororo... she... I don't know, it all happened so quickly. She just..."

"--asked to meet us in the War Room," The Beast popped his head around the corner. "All of us."

* * *

"I've just spoken to Valerie Cooper," Storm paced around the elongated table in the center of The War Room. "She's offered an immunity to any of you who wish to register."

"Even non-mutants?" The Juggernaut asked, She-Hulk kicking him underneath the table.

"I don't know how pleased Stark is with the notion," Ororo spoke slowly, "but the offer remains. She's working with him, not against him... he'll adapt, I'm sure."

Rogue's eyes met LeBeau's, though neither said a word; Carol sighed loudly, pushing her damp hair from her eyes before she spoke. "Are you going to talk about last night?"

"I think you should," Mystique watched Storm closely. "We have a right to know what happened. The last we heard was from LeBeau -- and that's hardly an adequate account of what..."

"Nobody asked you, Raven," Gambit glared at her. "Storm'll tell you 'bout last night when she decides to."

"There's no need to be so defensive, Gambit," McCoy jumped to Mystique's aid before focusing on Storm. "Ororo, we need to know what happened last night -- especially if you're in contact with the government concerning our little group of X-Men here."

"We are not the X-Men," Darkholme scowled.

"Yeah," Spider-Man smiled, "we don't even have a Wolverine."

"Or a telepath," She-Hulk followed up.

No one replied.

"Tough crowd," Spider-Man and She-Hulk said in unison, each in their own low tone. They smiled at each other.

"A realistic one," Mystique glared at the two of them. "Something happened last night -- something big. I deserve to know what that was."

"I agree," Ororo acknowledged her. "I..."

"...don' have t'talk about dis if you don't want to," Gambit interrupted her. "It happened, it's over, can't change it... just gotta keep movin' forward."

"There is very little forward left, Remy," Storm looked to her friend. "For this group, for myself -- for any of this."

"Remy?" Rogue shifted in her seat. "Storm, what happened?"

"War Machine," Carol surveyed her friends. "War Machine is dead."

"I killed him."

The group eyed Storm, some shocked, others recounting the event in their minds.

Raven smiled. "I'm impressed."

"Save your words," Ororo glared at her. "I did not believe him to be James Rhodes. I believed both he and Stark were charades -- creations of Stark's and Forge's to fool us."

"Look," Rogue stood, "we've all gotten our hands a little dirty in this mess... that ain't no reason t'start talkin' t'Val Cooper or surrenderin', joinin' Stark on his quest t'rule the world, Ororo."

"His quest may not be horribly misguided," Storm placed her hand on Rogue's shoulder, pushing her back into her seat. "Though mine may be."

"Ororo," Hank pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "don't be rash. Rogue is right -- there are very few of us in this room who haven't done something quite regrettable in the last few weeks alone."

"I regret nothing," Mystique corrected him. Spider-Man turned as she spoke, Raven glaring at him for a moment. "...almost."

Peter rolled his eyes, turning back to Hank and Storm.

"Fine," McCoy continued, "save for Raven. Ororo, you've made great strides for all of us... we wouldn't be where we are without you."

"He's right," Jen nodded, "I'd still be guarding Cain over here, pretending like I gave a rat's ass about S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of Stark's bull. Storm, you can't seriously..."

"I am returning to Wakanda to prepare for war, Jennifer," Storm stopped her. "It is all that I can do."

"You don't think Tony Stark is going to start a war over..."

"...Hank's got the idea, Storm," Rogue interrupted McCoy. "He ain't gonna head to Wakanda because you accidentally killed one of his men. Ah took out one of his assassins and Wakanda's doin' fine without you."

"Rhodes wasn't one of his men, Rogue," Carol sighed. "He was his best friend. And you may have killed one of Tony's agents -- but you aren't the Queen of a country."

"Time is almost up on Stark's original proposal," Storm took a seat at the head of the table. "Valerie has given us that amount of time to make a decision -- I am sorry, my friends... but I can no longer stay here. I must do what is best for my country."

"Leaving us in your wake, Ororo?" McCoy stared at her.

She said nothing.

"That's not an X-Man, Storm."

"I am Queen of Wakanda, Henry," Munroe stood, pushing her chair aside and making her way to the door. "I stopped being an X-Man many years ago."

The door closed behind her, the group staring at one another long after it had clicked.

"We have two hours," Carol looked at each of them. "Two hours to decide which side of the war that's just begun you're going to be on."

Danvers stood, tracing Munroe's footsteps to the doorway. "If you're with me, let me know within the hour. We'll need to find a new base. If you're heading after Tony Stark, I have Valerie Cooper's direct line in the Communications Room.

"Don't let me down."

* * *

Munroe stopped in front of the Wakandan aircraft The Baxter Building had sent over via robot, the sound of Ms. Marvel's heels echoing through the room. The heels stopped just after Ororo's had.

"You cannot persuade me, Carol," Ororo's long, white ponytail following her head's swift turn. "I must do what is best for my country."

"I didn't come here to."

"You've come for another goodbye, then?"

"No," Carol's stomach sank. "I came here to ask you why you bothered coming over here in the first place."

"Carol."

"Why did you stir everything up, Ororo?"

"I have a long flight," Storm turned, turning back almost immediately after Carol spun her around by her shoulder. Munroe had no fight left in her.

"Look around you, Storm," Danvers sighed. "Hank, Rogue, Gambit, _Spider-Man_, She-Hulk, _Mystique_, Madrox, Surge... Vance, the _Juggernaut_? You can't leave."

"Perhaps I should not have come."

"No," Carol snapped, "perhaps nothing -- you shouldn't have! What am I supposed to do with these people? They aren't going to follow me, Storm... why would they? This isn't about mutant rights anymore and you know it. My life -- _our lives _-- everything is different now... you had us believing in something, hoping for something better... that it was right around the corner, and you..."

"And I nothing."

"Exactly," Carol turned, her hands full of blonde hair. "You nothing."

"I do not know what you wish me to say, Carol."

"I don't either," Danvers turned back. "I don't either."

The two women stood face-to-face. Tears had welled-up in Carol's eyes. "I trusted you. I believed in you."

"Believe in yourself, Carol," Storm's stomach sank this time. "I haven't brought you all together by myself. Henry had his own squad for some time -- it was he who brought you to Wakanda."

"Yes, but..."

"...and after the tragedy with Weapon X," Storm continued, "it was _you _who found this base for relocation."

"Storm..."

"You do not need me, Carol," Ororo smiled softly. "You never have."

"You knew that was really Rhodes, Ororo... Why'd you do it? Why did you kill him?"

Storm stood up straight. She looked like a goddess, Carol thought -- and though she'd tasted the power of a deity herself, she'd never felt farther from one.

"Because I lost control."

Carol took a step away as Ororo took a step up onto the jet.

"I cannot risk it again," Storm didn't look back. "There is too much at stake."

Danvers' eyes shot to the ground -- and a moment later returned to Ororo's back. "I suppose you're right."

"We'll meet again, Carol."

Ms. Marvel watched the hatch close, taking a few steps back as the Wakandan plane began to make its leave.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

"You shouldn't have let them leave," Tony Stark heard the voice from the back of the dark room. "_Again_."

"And you shouldn't sit in the dark," Tony smiled, placing his rekindled helmet on the desk in front of him. "It's bad for your eyes, you know."

"So your gamble with James' life was a success."

"Ororo is leaving, isn't she?"

"It worked out perfectly," Stark continued. "Their trust in her has been shaken to its core. Susan will be completely out of the picture at this point. We'll have a handful of them on our side -- I imagine Rogue and Gambit will slink off quietly into the night... their little resistance won't hold up for much longer."

"And if it does?"

"Our little mole won't disappoint us, Forge," Iron Man sat down at the desk.

"They haven't yet."

* * *

**NEXT: **_Madrox. Surge. She-Hulk. The Juggernaut. Spider-Man. The Beast. Justice. Mystique. Gambit. Rogue. Ms. Marvel. One of them is working for Tony Stark. Storm is gone, leaving Ms. Marvel to pick up the pieces of an anti-Iron regime... who stays, who goes?? And how in the hell is FORGE alive?! Thanks for the reviews -- they keep it comin'!!_

* * *


	12. succession

_

* * *

_

Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do?

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter twelve: succession_

**

* * *

**

TWO WEEKS AGO

"Well," James Rhodes smiled as he walked into the room, "looks like you've got your new best friend all figured out."

"Rhodey, Rhodey," Tony Stark turned from the large computer terminal in front of him, "I've had my new best friend a lot longer than I've had Forge's program here."

"Yeah?" Rhodes grinned.

"My latest redesign on the armor, Jim," Stark laughed. "We've been pretty close for months now."

"Very funny," James ignored him. "So, you gonna tell me what's goin' on with that thing, anyway?"

"Forge imprinted some of his skill into the database here," Stark replied. "That's all. I should be able to have a life-model decoy within a few days. The man was a genius -- ahead of his time."

"Too bad Mystique didn't think so kindly of him," James' War Machine helmet clicked away from his face. "He was actually starting to grow on me."

"It's almost as if he saw the whole thing coming," Stark stared blankly ahead. "Like he didn't _want _to be alive."

"Men who don't want to live don't imprint their signature onto Stark Industries Software, Tony," Jim shook his head. "The man's as good as alive that way."

"Without any human thought, emotion..."

"Don't let _him _-- _it _-- hear you say that."

"That's the beauty in befriending machines, Jim," Stark smiled. "You can turn them off."

* * *

**NICK FURY'S BASE, THE PRESENT**

"I'm not going anywhere," Vance Astrovik looked at Carol deadpan. It was the first time he'd seen her without her Ms. Marvel uniform in weeks. She was beautiful. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Well, that's comforting," Danvers smiled at Justice. "We're certainly happy to have become your last resort."

"I do what I can," Vance smiled back at her. "Besides, I don't trust Stark... it wouldn't surprise me if _he _was behind Rhodes' death. Not at this point."

"I wish I could agree with you," Carol sighed. "I don't trust the man -- but I did trust Ororo. You should've seen her eyes, Vance. I barely recognized her."

"She didn't know it was him," Justice argued. "Wasn't that the original consensus?"

"Yeah," Ms. Marvel looked past him. "I'm not so convinced."

"De woman had a lotta pressure on her," LeBeau began as he joined them. "De power dose two have when together... de could've killed us all."

"We were winning, Gambit," Marvel turned. "We outranked them."

"Stark has every man and woman at S.H.I.E.L.D. behind him, Carol," Gambit took a seat, propping his legs up on the table in the center of the room. "He was bidin' his time, maybe -- but if 'Ro hadn't done what she did... who knows what woulda happened, non?"

"An interesting theory," The Beast called, the door in the far corner sliding open as he exited his makeshift lab. "Interesting indeed."

"So what's it look like in there, Hank?"

"Madrox is as helpful as ever," McCoy replied coolly. "He'll barely let me run a test on him."

Surge walked out of the room behind him, taking a seat next to Gambit. "I'm going to kill that man."

"Might not need to," Gambit shrugged, Nori slapping him immediately afterwards.

"That's not funny."

"Wasn't tryin' t'be."

"Nori, you spend the most time with him..."

"That's why I'm so freaked out, Carol," Surge looked up at Ms. Marvel. "He hasn't been the same... he looks awful, he'll barely talk..."

"I thought doctors weren't supposed to divulge their patients' secrets," Madrox finally entered the room.

"Doctors are normally paid very well," McCoy smiled at him. "And very rarely have to drag their patients in for an exam."

Madrox slammed his fist into his chest as he coughed, a duplicate surfacing to his left. "There. He's yours."

"Well thanks," the dupe rolled his eyes, heading back into McCoy's lab as Hank got up to follow.

"I'm as giddy as a New Mutant," McCoy smiled as he left them.

* * *

**WAKANDA**

Ororo Munroe stepped from her craft in Wakanda, her deep purple gown weaving its way to the ground. The warmth was refreshing -- the trees draping, the flowers blooming: she was home.

A soft breeze ran through her hair as she made her way to the palace, already having shrugged several of her personal guard away from her. Some of her subjects had already begun to move the craft to its resting place, a few others offering gifts as she passed them, graciously accepting a few and graciously rejecting a few others. She'd assured them before -- she was their Queen as their equal; a friend and an ally. They did not need to buy her love -- they'd already earned it.

She stepped inside of the palace, a short Wakandan by the name of Hij'Ra greeting her. He was another of her advisors.

"Your majesty," Hij'Ra bowed slightly. "Wakanda has missed their Queen."

"And I have missed Wakanda, my friend," Storm smiled. "I will deal with news momentarily -- have the court assembled in my throne room within the half hour. There is something I must do before we begin."

"Tony Stark, my Queen," he nodded eagerly, "Tony Stark has sent word from The United States... he wishes desperately to contact you."

"It shall wait," Storm placed her hand on his tiny shoulder. He nodded again, heading off to assemble the other leaders of Wakanda, those who had governed in Storm's stead.

Ororo turned, making her way down the grand halls and stopping before a solid, onyx-like Wakandan monument of T'Challa, The Black Panther. She placed her hand on a panel attached to the door, the door itself whizzing open immediately afterward to reveal a grand hall -- lit by torch; each stick of eternal fire adorning columns on both sides of the hall all the way to the focal point of the room:

T'Challa's tomb.

Storm strolled the hall of the corridor, briefly examining the native plants and jewels which filled each crevice of the room as she did so. It was beautiful -- though it had taken her much time to convince those Wakandans who relied heavily on tradition that T'Challa deserved a tomb.

She'd needed it more for herself than T'Challa, of course -- and had very little doubt that most Wakandans believed it unnecessary, that The Panther God would have a tomb in the afterlife for their fallen King on a much grander scale.

Ororo had made her way to the end of the hall, two giant panther statues sitting atop the grand staircase she'd begun to ascend. She removed her shoes first, each heel resting at the base of the stairs. The marble was cold on her feet.

A golden case sat between the two panthers, Ororo running her hand across its cool exterior as she reached it, collapsing to the ground a moment later. She turned away from it, the skin on her back feeling its icy temperature as she leaned back.

"You'd tell me otherwise," she said aloud, her voice carrying through the room, "but I'm not sure I can do this without you, T'Challa. Not anymore."

Her voice came back to her, bouncing from column to column. She ran her hand through her hair and forced away the tears.

She was Queen.

Whatever she had done in the United States -- whatever she had done as a woman, as an X-Man, as a mutant -- she was Queen now... and with that came certain responsibilities; judgment calls only she was truly free to make.

He would have killed them, she thought. If not then, then another time. For a brief moment she hated Tony Stark for what she had made him do -- thinking bitterly that she'd wished James Rhodes alive; that it was Stark in the War Machine armor.

She pushed her thoughts back, away from her. His blood was on her hands, it couldn't be changed. And it was not Stark who'd put it there.

Carol, Gambit, Susan, Ben -- they were still alive. If S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived, or if Rhodes' cannons had exploded...

She was Queen.

Ororo stood, running her hand along T'Challa's memorial a final time before descending the staircase, slipping her feet into her heels yet again and walking solemnly from whence she came.

There was work to do.

* * *

"I am not going to sit and wait for them to stroll back in," The Black Widow attached a grenade to her hip, "let them walk all over us," she slipped a knife into its holster, "and then walk back out."

"You'll do as you're told, Natasha," Stark glared at her. "You're an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- yes," The Widow barked, "not of Tony Stark's."

"What's this really about, 'Tasha?"

"James is _dead_, Tony," Natasha narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to even the score."

"You're not sounding like an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Neither are you."

"If this is about your little tiff with Gambit," Tony strolled around her, "you'll just have to be faster from now on."

Romanov stepped forward, wrapping her hand around Stark's neck. "It should have been you."

He moved back, pushing her away. "Don't. Touch me."

"I don't know when you died, Tony," The Widow slid another knife into another holster, "but I will not be around to follow your lead."

* * *

"Mystique's gone," Jennifer Walters entered the War Room. "Looks like she took her daughter with her, too."

"What?" Gambit turned. "Dat ain't possible."

"Read it and weep, lover boy," She-Hulk tossed a note onto the table. "Didn't even say goodbye."

Gambit read the note quickly, stood, and headed for their room.

Walters couldn't believe it, but she actually felt bad for LeBeau. With Gambit gone, she turned her attention to Spider-Man. "You gonna be okay, Peter?"

"Ha ha," Parker glared at her. "If anything I just feel so... used."

"There were too many risks involved with having either of them anyway," Carol turned to face the group reluctantly. "Anyone else leaving?"

"Cain," Jennifer stared ahead. "He's heading north."

"What?" Parker perked up.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Walters took a seat.

"You gonna be okay, Jen?" Peter mused, Jennifer standing up quickly and reaching for him. Peter narrowly avoided her fingertips.

"Thank god for spider-sense."

"I'm gonna show you some Hulk-sense if you keep talking," Jennifer rolled her eyes, taking her seat again.

"All I'm hearing is non-sense," Nori rolled her eyes. "We need to regroup, figure something out... Carol, what are we going to do?"

"Head for Alaska."

"...what?"

"I'm kidding," Carol sighed. "I don't know."

* * *

LeBeau read the note again.

_So ah'm goin' somewhere where ah can make a difference. Carol's a good woman, ah know that... but sometimes you've gotta be willin' ta do things she won't do. Mystique will. Ah'm gonna fix some of this mess, Remy -- and ah can't have you in harm's way. You're just a sweet lil cajun' boy who'd end up gettin' hurt, and then ah'm gonna have t'be there t'pick up the pieces._

_So listen t'me. Get outta there. Ah don't trust Carol, good woman or not... you remember what ah told you about her. Remember it good... cause once you work for Tony Stark, he owns a little piece a'you. Head for Mystique's mansion down South, you know the one. Ah'll meet you there._

_Don't let me down, Remy. 'Cause you know ah'll kick your Nawlin's-lovin'..._

Gambit watched the note charge with kinetic energy and explode softly before he turned, grabbed his staff, and headed for Danvers.

* * *

"We gotta end dis before someone else does."

"What are you talking about?" She-Hulk turned, Danvers taking a few steps closer to LeBeau.

"Mystique an' Rogue are goin' after Stark."

"Because it works so well with the group of us," Spider-Man muttered. "Two is always better than nineteen."

"How do you know that?"

"I jus' do," Gambit sighed. "We ain't gonna have much time... s'no tellin' what dey're gonna do."

"You're right," Carol looked at him. "There _is _no telling. They left, Remy. I know that's hard to accept, but they left without you. Without any of us. That was their choice. Right now we have to find a new base, get out of here... our ranks are down, and those people know where we're hiding out. It's too great a risk."

"So is my girl waltzin' into S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters or somet'in. I need your help, Carol."

"And we need yours."

"Didn't you guys tell me Rogue took off some chick's head?" Spider-Man surveyed the room. "Gambit, she'll be fine. And don't even get me started on Mystique."

"T'anks," LeBeau ignored him, moving past Danvers and heading for McCoy's lab. The doors opened and closed behind him, Gambit walking inside and standing in front of Hank who was running a few tests on a scantily-clad Madrox.

"Yes, Remy?"

"We gotta get outta here," Gambit spoke quickly. "Rogue an' Mystique, dey left... an' I don't know how, but we gotta find 'em."

"Er... I'm a little preoccupied right now, Remy," Hank looked at him over his glasses.

"And I'm a little naked," Madrox coughed. "So if you don't mind, LeBeau..."

"Unbelievable," Gambit glared.

"Thanks," Madrox coughed again.

"Oh, shut de hell up," LeBeau glared. "Hank, none of dis would even be happenin' if we hadn't worked together in de beginning. You owe me."

"Look how well it all turned out, too, Gambit," Madrox sat up. "Good work bringin' Storm into all this... she did a great job."

McCoy shot Madrox a look, standing to prevent LeBeau from attacking him. "We owe it to one another to remain united, Gambit. We can't do this without each other."

"You t'ink I don' know dat, Hank?"

"That's not what I'm suggesting, Remy."

LeBeau laughed. "I know we can't do dis wit'out each other, Hank... dat's de whole reason I wanna go after Rogue and Mystique so dey don't end up _dead_."

Jamie Madrox coughed loudly from behind them, blood leaping from his mouth and splattering on his chest and across the white sheets of his bed.

"Shit," LeBeau muttered to himself as Hank moved back frantically.

"Jamie?!"

The Beast checked the machines around him, searching desperately for any malfunctions or test results he hadn't factored in, noticed or hadn't expected. Madrox coughed again, doubling over and slamming his fists into the bed. He tried to pull himself up, falling back lifelessly -- his eyes glossed over as he fell back against his pillow.

He was dead.

* * *

Carol and the others turned to find McCoy and LeBeau standing awestruck in the doorway to his lab. Nori jolted from her seat, running past them and into the room to find Madrox's body.

"He's dead," McCoy sighed. "It was so sudden... the tests weren't even complete..."

"Jesus," She-Hulk stood. "What in the hell else can go wrong?"

Carol shot Jen a look. "I can't believe it."

"Forge had said it was a strain of The Legacy Virus," McCoy turned, "which is potentially transferable; contagious... NORI! Get out of there!"

McCoy lunged back into the room, pulling Surge from Madrox. As he pulled her back Jamie's lifeless hand fell from her own, McCoy struggling to get her into the War Room.

Carol moved forward, grabbing at Surge to help McCoy. When her bare hand grabbed Nori's arm, however, both women shrieked.

Surge's thoughts ran rampant through Ms. Marvel's mind as electricity flew wildly from Carol's eyes and palms. The group scattered, Surge falling lifelessly to the floor while Hank leapt atop Carol, pinning her to the ground until she threw him back.

McCoy crashed into the table hard, bouncing back up and into his lab -- grabbing a syringe and leaping back in time to slam it into Carol's thigh. He stumbled slightly, lightheaded.

Danvers fell to the ground beside Surge.

She-Hulk pulled herself from the ground. "Well that's the last time I ask what _else _could go wrong..."

**

* * *

**

MASONTRY APARTMENTS, NEW YORK CITY

"Welcome home, Ms. LeCaine," the desk clerk nodded as he stood to greet his tenant and her friend. "How was Europe?"

"...just fine," LeCaine replied briefly, walking past him as quickly as possible while a younger-looking woman with short brown hair clung onto her shoulder.

"Is your friend alright?"

"She's fine," the woman nodded. "Just a bit too much to drink this evening."

The attendant smiled and made a joke of some sort before returning to the desk. "Well, the elevator's all ready -- and I've buzzed your apartment door already, so get up there before somebody sneaks in, yeah?"

LeCaine forced a smile. "Have a good night."

The elevator door slid shut behind them, Patricia LeCaine doing her best to balance her friend. She pushed her back against the wall, the young woman's face falling back and her eyes opening.

"I'll never get used to that," she wheezed.

"And ah'll never get used t'your thoughts runnin' around in mah head," LeCaine's voice mirrored Rogue's. "Wise up, Mystique... ah hope you're not very nice t'that poor door man... 'cause ah didn't know what the hell t'say to him."

"I don't think I've ever said _anything_, Rogue," the young woman looked into LeCaine's face as she spoke to her daughter. "But I doubt he's intelligent enough to have thought much of it."

The elevator doors opened again, the young woman walking a bit better and guiding "Patricia LeCaine" to her own apartment. They opened the door quickly, the young woman shifting into Mystique while LeCaine shifted back into Rogue.

"Ah could've just worn a cloak," Rogue looked at Mystique with an arched brow. "You could've walked in here as LeCaine, _me _draped over _your _shoulder... ah don't even think that guy saw your face."

"I haven't survived this long by taking chances, Rogue," Mystique held her head. "I'd rather lend you my abilities for an instant than have some foolish door clerk recognize you as an X-Man or a S.H.I.E.L.D. fugitive. I rarely underestimate Tony Stark's influence in the world."

"So ah suppose you've got this place decked out," Rogue surveyed the open room. Beautiful furniture, vast space... "How many lives d'you _live_, Raven?"

"I lost count in the '70s, darling," Raven smiled.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to show," a familiar voice called from the next room over.

Rogue turned quickly, Mystique taking a seat as she poured herself a glass of red wine.

"Oh, we're here."

* * *

"I still feel a bit whoozy, myself," McCoy shook his head as Justice telekinetically lifted Carol Danvers onto an observation table. "It seems that her bonding with Rogue's DNA had more of an effect than we'd anticipated."

"So she's got Rogue's absorption powers now?" She-Hulk looked on in both concern and interest.

"Just ask Nori," The Beast motioned toward Surge, who still lay unconscious on the observation bed beside Carol. "She held onto her much longer."

"So why didn't we notice anything before?"

"Carol usually wears gloves?" Hank questioned. "I'm not sure. It took a considerable time before any of Carol's powers returned... her body, perhaps due to her time with a power cosmic, could have been fighting the integration. It's hard to say."

"Look," Spider-Man's eyes bounced from face to face, "this is horrible. And scary. But aren't we forgetting that Jamie is _dead_? They're going to wake up!"

"I've begun an autopsy," McCoy spoke grimly. "But I doubt you'll want to be in the room when I complete it, Peter. We _did _have a slight... distraction, here. I wanted to make sure Carol was alright... that Nori was fine... life always comes before death, Mr. Parker."

"I'm not an idiot, Hank," Peter narrowed his eyes. "I could probably even _help _you with it."

"I'm sorry," Hank sighed. "This is all just happening so quickly..."

"Seriously," Jen turned. "Calm down, Mary."

Parker and She-Hulk glared at one another for a moment.

"...alright, then," Justice broke the silence. "Well, maybe we should check with the _real _Jamie... make sure he's okay?"

"Oh my God," She-Hulk slapped her head. "You're right... that was one of his duplicates. Er, dupes."

"In all of the chaos," McCoy moved toward the room's exit, "I didn't even stop to think..."

"He ain't here," Gambit met him in the doorway. "I already searched de whole complex. No Madrox, alive _or _dead. But we got bigger problems."

As Gambit stepped forward, the group could see The Black Widow, a gun resting on LeBeau's neck, his hands now up in the air.

A small grin surfaced on the Widow's lips.

"Or so it would appear."

* * *

**NEXT: **_Rogue's surprise -- and Mystique's expected -- visitor! Storm makes a move! Oh, and The Black Widow has SOMEHOW found her way to their secret headquarters! Hope Carol wakes up! Thanks for the reviews, they keep it comin'!! :)_

* * *


	13. calm before the

* * *

_Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do?_

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter thirteen: calm before the_

* * *

Madrox glared at the screen in front of him.

_**S.H.I.E.L.D. MAINFRAME. ENTER ACCESS CODE...**_

He rummaged through his thoughts; the memories various dupes had reintegrated into his mind, and managed to find the appropriate codes.

_**DIRECT PATCH, TONY STARK... ACCESS GRANTED...**_

"This is Stark," the screen shifted into Tony Stark's face. He looked tired, Jamie thought. Almost broken.

"Tony," Jamie leaned closer to the screen, "this is Agent Madrox."

"I was wondering when you'd check in, James."

"Yeah, well," Madrox began between coughs, "things have been a little rough around here for me."

"I told you," Stark looked uninterested, "the cure is waiting for you aboard the Helicarrier. As soon as you bring them in."

"I'm not complaining," Multiple Man replied. "I'm just letting you know that..."

"That was our deal, wasn't it?"

"I'm working on it."

"Work faster. I got rid of Storm for you, didn't I?"

"Has anyone told you that your expectations are a little high?"

"And has anyone told you that you'll be dead within seventy-two hours, Agent? Stark out."

The screen faded into nothing, the room returning to black. Madrox leaned back into his chair with a sigh -- the room falling silent for only a second.

"Are you kidding me?" Madrox heard Nori from the back of the room. "Did I seriously just hear--"

Madrox stood instantly, slamming into Surge and covering her mouth as he threw her against the wall. "You need to forget all of that, Nori."

Electrical energy swallowed his hand, Madrox falling back with a grunt. Surge's eyes sizzled.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking out for number one."

"Says the Multiple Man," Surge glared.

"Listen," Madrox wheezed; The Legacy Virus was taking its toll. "I'm going to die if I don't help him. Is that what you want?"

"You're unbelievable," Nori turned. "I've followed you for years, Jamie... I had no idea that you could sink so low."

"And I had no idea you cared about me so little."

Surge laughed; she didn't know what else to do. "The feeling's mutual. You're going to try and hand us over to Stark? After all we've been through?"

"He'll give you the chance to register, Nori. Especially you. I'll handle it."

"We've _had _the chance to register, Jamie! We've had it for years! Stark has no interest in mutant rights -- or any rights other than his own! You _know that_! Hank can help you... you have to forget about this, all of this, or I'm going to..."

"Going to what?" Madrox eyed her. "Tell mom?"

* * *

Carol Danvers' eyes burst open as Gambit flew across the room, slamming into the wall and falling to the ground. A bullet whizzed past her head, Danvers immediately rolling off of the observation table and hitting the floor.

She found herself at eye level with a still-unconscious Surge. "Nori," Danvers ignored the memories she'd just absorbed from the mutant, "you have to wake up..."

No response.

Danvers bit her lip, slamming her fists into the metal table and wrapping it around her wrists. She hurled it blindly, The Black Widow narrowly avoiding the assault.

"Glad you could join us, Carol!" Natasha shrieked as she landed on her feet. Carol's eyes went wide as a flash grenade left The Widow's fingertips, exploding in front of her face. Danvers slammed through a glass window in the aftermath, Natasha waiting only a second to make sure she didn't get back up.

She-Hulk slammed into Romanov hard, the two women falling forward into a computer terminal which instantly shattered and sparked.

"You're messin' with the wrong group, 'Tasha!"

The Widow pushed herself from the ground, leaping to her feet to land a kick in the side of She-Hulk's jaw. Walters laughed, lunging forward again and grabbing at Natasha's other foot.

She held tight, launching her across the room. Jennifer cracked her knuckles -- and a moment later noticed a tiny grenade at her feet. It erupted, but instead of an explosion the room began to fill with a gray smoke. It surrounded She-Hulk, and when the smoke cleared only Jennifer Walters remained.

The Beast's eye caught Jennifer's lily-white hand as his elbow connected with Natasha's neck. The Widow stumbled back, her palms pushing away from the wall behind her. She quickly brought her hands forward, flipped over McCoy and turned instantly for her foot to connect with Hank's back, launching _him _forward this time. Romanov smiled at the sound of his skull against the drywall.

A glowing knife flew by Natasha's ear, connecting with the same wall and exploding a second later. She fell back, staying on the ground long enough to meet Gambit's boot a second later; the Cajun's foot slamming into her forehead and knocking her back.

He flew forward, landing atop her and plunging one of the knives into her shoulder. Gambit flipped backward as it exploded inside of her, Natasha screaming in front of her intended victims for the first time in years.

Romanov pulled a smaller gun from her belt, aiming it for only a second before a bullet flew forward, slamming into a telekinetic shield only centimeters away from LeBeau's neck.

Justice landed beside Gambit, the cajun mouthing thank you as the bullet fell to the floor and Natasha flew back under the assault of a telekinetic barrier. It pinned her to the wall behind her, The Widow wincing in pain.

Astrovik continued to push the shield forward, Natasha's eyes growing wide at the crushing force of Vance's telekinesis. He kept pushing.

Gambit stood back as her remains fell to the floor -- he wasn't sure he'd ever seen so much blood.

Astrovik and LeBeau took a few more steps back, Gambit kneeling down and pulling an unconscious McCoy from The Widow's pool of blood which had begun to creep forward.

As Gambit stood, Astrovik fell -- LeBeau turning instantly as Vance clutched his bleeding leg to see James Madrox holding a smoking gun.

"Do yourself a favor and surrender, Gambit," Madrox glared at him.

"Do yourself a favor," the gun snapped away from Jamie's grasp courtesy of a friendly neighborhood webline, "and shut up!" Spider-Man shot another webline from his wrist, and another, and another, until Madrox was encased in webbing and hit the ground hard.

The webbing shattered around the original Madrox as four duplicates emerged from the fall. One slammed into Gambit, another into Spider-Man, while two began to search the room for anyone who was still conscious.

LeBeau's staff connected with one of the Madrox's faces, another Madrox instantly standing at his side. The two duplicates turned into four, four turned into eight, eight turned into sixteen --

Spider-Man watched Gambit disappear underneath their mass.

"So we can't touch you," Parker crept back slowly, two versions of Madrox growing closer. "Fine!"

Weblines shot forward again, encasing both versions of the mutant. A few more shot out after that, connecting with the mummified Madroxes; he pulled the line with all of his strength, hoisting them into the air.

The room was beginning to feel cramped as Ms. Marvel joined Spider-Man at his side, seventeen Multiple Men growing closer to the duo.

"Looks like it's just us," Spider-Man said uneasily. "Who knew, huh?"

"Not now," Danvers glared ahead. They were all around them -- Carol's thoughts turning to those of Nori's she'd had just before she'd awoken to chaos. "He's on Stark's side."

"Well I could've told ya that," Parker quipped, his costumed back pressed firmly against hers. "You're not gonna zap me, are you?"

"Zap?"

"Whatever happened with Nori... I don't wanna end up like that."

Ms. Marvel rolled her eyes as they grew even closer -- and just as they leapt forward, ready to bury both she and Parker in a sea of Madrox, Carol grabbed Spider-Man's waist and flew upward, slamming through the ceiling.

Danvers slammed through another ceiling, and another, and another, until she and Spider-Man found themselves in on the rooftop.

"What are you doing?!"

"We can't win this," Marvel glared at him. "Stark's probably on his way, and unless you can find the time to figure out how to defeat an army of pissed off, dying mutants sans physical contact..."

"I figured something out with two of 'em..."

"Try two-hundred," Carol barked. "We have no idea how many he's capable of creating."

"We can't just leave them..."

"They're gone, Peter," Carol grabbed his waist again. "The jig is up -- Madrox was a mole; he's already contacted Stark, I know it."

The two were flying through the air a second later. "We'll find a way to get them back!"

Parker watched the secret base grow smaller and smaller, wrapping his arms around Carol's neck. "I don't need you to carry me, y'know."

* * *

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Rogue moved forward toward Mystique's visitor, Spider-Woman's face becoming more and more visible. "Mystique, even fer you... this woman tried t'_kill _us!"

Drew took a step past Rogue, making her way toward Mystique and joining her on the couch. Rogue turned back, standing in front of the two women.

"We've all made our mistakes, dear," Mystique sipped at her glass of wine. "Spider-Woman is here to rectify hers."

"Ah bet."

"Who do you think let Carol, Storm and your little boyfriend go, Rogue? I'm on Tony's most-wanted list now, same as you."

"So it's an alliance a'convenience, then," Rogue arched an eyebrow. "Ah don't trust you."

"This entire operation has been an alliance of convenience, Rogue. Very few people have trust for one another these days," Mystique caught Rogue's eye. "_Very _few."

"You're right," Rogue moved, making her way back to the door. "Mah mistake."

"Rogue, wait," Spider-Woman ran after her, her hand on Rogue's shoulder. "I can help you take Stark down."

"You an' everybody else," Rogue pushed her away. "Seems like the guy's got nobody t'trust."

"He's not the man we thought he was, Rogue."

"Sounds awfully convenient, Spider-Woman."

The two women stared at one another, the tension breaking only when Mystique's glass of wine slammed into the wall next of them, shattering instantly, a trail of wine leading from the wall to the floor.

"Listen to me very closely," Mystique stood. "I am through with games.

This woman is going to help us or I am going to kill her."

* * *

**THE BAXTER BUILDING**

"We had nowhere else to go," Carol's let Spider-Man down as her feet touched the rooftop of Susan Richards' home.

"Carol," Sue sighed. "You shouldn't be here."

Danvers looked away. "They have everyone, Susan. Hank, Jennifer, Vance, Gambit..."

"Carol, I know..."

"...Ororo's gone, Fury's base is compromised, I don't know where else I can turn... to who else I can turn..."

"Carol, please," The Invisible Woman stepped forward, the wind ripping through her hair. "You aren't listening."

"Wait," Spider-Man pulled Danvers closer to him. "She said that she knew."

"What?" Carol looked at him, then back at Richards.

"She said she knew," Peter glared at Susan. "She knew that they had everyone..."

"Stark's already been here," Sue looked down. "I gave him access to The Wakandan Embassy... I had no choice."

"You what?!" Carol charged forward, Spider-Man grabbing at her to pull her back but failing.

Danvers stepped into Susan's face. "You have to be kidding me!"

"What else do I have to _do _for you people?!"

Carol stepped back, running her hands through her hair. "You... people?"

"He's given you the chance to register, Peter," Susan ignored Ms. Marvel. "And you, Carol," she turned back, "you were right there with him, you were fine, you were safe..."

Danvers felt like she was going to throw up. "What has he done to you?"

Richards looked away.

"God," Carol stepped forward. "Oh my God, Susan... he has your children, doesn't he?"

"I can't lose them, Carol," Sue looked up, a few tears falling from her face. "I've already lost so much... I can't... I can't lose them."

Peter looked on in horror. He'd never felt so disgusted; so lost. "We should go."

"You're right," Danvers nodded. "Susan... I'm so sorry."

"I'm going to have to contact him," she stifled her tears. "But I'll give you fifteen minutes. He already knows you've left Fury's base, he thought you might come here."

"Thank you," Carol wrapped her arms around Sue. Richards pulled back, nodding past Danvers at Spider-Man.

"Good luck."

* * *

Iron Man's helmet slammed into his desk, Stark reaching for his bottle of bourbon and emptying the rest of it into the tiny glass beside it. He brought it to his lips and set it back down, falling back into his chair.

"The Helicarrier's on the move, sir," a voice called from a small box beside Stark's picture of The Avengers.

"Keep me updated," Stark said simply.

A large monitor slid through a rectangular hole running the length of the desk and stopped at his eye level, various statistics scrolling across the screen.

"Where are you going to go, Carol?" he said to himself as he took another sip from his glass.

* * *

"You can't go back to Fury's base," Mystique shot Rogue a look. "I'm sure they're already gone."

"Ah'm not goin' to Fury's base, Mystique," Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Ah'm goin' to meet Remy."

"What makes you so sure he'll be there?"

"Ah'll take mah chances," Rogue snapped. "Ah'm not makin' anymore deals with the devil."

"The devil?" Spider-Woman rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious."

Rogue ignored her. "He'll be there."

Spider-Woman and Mystique made eye contact for a few seconds -- long enough for Rogue to notice.

"What?"

"Nothing," the women said in unison.

"Don't shit me," Rogue walked toward them.

They made eye contact again, Mystique nodding with a sigh.

"Remy's gone, Rogue," Darkholme's tone lowered. "They're all gone."

"Gone where? What are you talkin' about, how do you know?"

"The tides are turning, dear," Mystique tried to calm her down. "Madrox gave them up -- he was working for Stark."

"Jamie?"

"Madrox has been an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, Rogue," Spider-Woman cut in. "He's been playing you from the beginning."

"You _knew _this?"

Raven looked away. "I'd seen him on the Helicarrier when I was masquerading as Agent Adler, but I wasn't entirely sure..."

"And you didn't bother t'find out? _You_?"

"Spider-Woman and I made contact -- she wanted to warn me," Mystique began to pace uncomfortably.

"So you high-tailed it outta there?"

"With my daughter," Mystique added.

"Give me a break," Rogue hissed. "Ah'm more than tired a hearin' that line, Raven. What in the hell do you want from me that you can't get from somebody else?"

Mystique looked away.

"Your power, Rogue," Spider-Woman spoke up. "You're the only one who can rid the world of Tony Stark."

"The right amount a'bullets can rid the world a'Tony Stark. That's bull."

"No," Mystique took a step closer. "Rogue, you can absorb his memories, his skill... together we can end this."

"Ah can't believe ah'm listenin' t'this," Rogue turned away form them. "Ah've gotta warn the others, warn Remy..."

"They're already gone," Spider-Woman shook her head. "Natasha -- The Black Widow, she already went to the base... she and Madrox handed them over to S.H.I.E.L.D. forty-five minutes ago. Stark sent out a call for S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, they're mounting an attack."

The color left Rogue's cheeks.

"Spider-Woman can get us aboard the Helicarrier, Rogue," Mystique explained. "I can impersonate Stark -- but you... I can only take his appearance... you, Rogue, you can impersonate _me_. Take my powers, drain him of his memories, his knowledge... kill him... _we'll become him_... we'll have all the knowledge we need; everything at our disposal to end this war."

"The war hasn't even begun, Raven," Rogue closed her eyes. Her thoughts turned to Gambit, to Jennifer, to Spider-Man...

"Ah'm gonna go get 'em," she mumbled.

"Don't be a fool," Mystique pleaded.

Rogue pushed the hair from her face, her eyes running up and down Mystique.

"Ah already have been."

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents lined the halls of the Detention Center as Maria Hill led Jennifer Walters, Remy LeBeau, Hank McCoy and a limping Vance Astrovik to their containment cell.

"We'll be holding you here," Commander Hill avoided eye contact, opening a large cell and pushing them in one by one.

"Hold this," Jennifer glared at her as she was pushed inside.

The door clicked together; the room was dimly-lit, mostly gray. Probably made out of titanium, She-Hulk thought. Most of the rooms were.

There were no windows and the cell was barely large enough for the four of them. Jen slammed her shackled wrists against the wall. "Damnit!"

McCoy took a seat in the corner, LeBeau standing in the opposite one. Vance stood in another corner, unable to sit due to the brace on his leg.

"Did you see Nori, Vance?" Hank spoke up.

"She was still unconscious in their med-lab when I left," Justice turned. "I told them what happened."

"You what?" Jen glared. "The less they know, Vance, the better."

"They patched me up, Jen," Astrovik shook his head, "they wanted to do the same for Nori. I'd rather them know what happened to her than risk..."

"You did the right thing, Vance," Hank looked to Justice, then to Walters. "If they're going to help her, they need to know what happened."

"You're right," Jen sighed. "I just can't believe this. Is this how it's going to end?"

"Non," LeBeau didn't turn to face them. "Rogue's out dere, Carol an' Pete are out dere... dis ain't de end. Hell, Storm's even still out dere."

"Ororo has concerns of her own right now," McCoy kept his eyes on the floor as he spoke. "And Rogue has no idea where we are."

"I don't count on any help from Mystique, either," Justice leaned on his good leg, running his hand along the thin metallic band which ran across his forehead, blocking his telekinesis. "Too bad we don't have anyone unstoppable."

"I can't answer for Cain's actions, Vance," Jen glared.

"I was talking about She-Hulk, Jennifer," Astrovik returned the glare. "Stop being so defensive."

"I'm sorry," Walters sunk to the ground. "I don't know what she hit me with... but whatever it is, I don't think I'll be green for awhile."

"This is it," McCoy mumbled.

"This is the end."

* * *

Wonder Man stepped inside of Stark's office, walking to the end of the room and taking a seat opposite Tony.

"They can't locate Carol."

"Then they aren't trying hard enough, are they?"

"Are you drinking?"

"I've conquered that demon, Simon," Stark glared at him. "Don't question me."

"Tony," Simon sat back in his chair, "I know you're under a lot of stress..."

"I couldn't be happier, actually," Stark stood, grabbed his helmet, and walked past him. "The United States is going to declare War on Wakanda within the hour. We have nearly every fugitive we've been looking for."

"James and Natasha are both dead," Simon's brow sunk. "Remember?"

Tony ignored him, attaching his helmet and opening a com-link to the bridge. "This is Director Stark. Change of plan; change our heading. We're going to Wakanda."

* * *

Forge pulled the syringe from Jamie Madrox's arm. "You'll want to lie back, James."

Madrox fell back onto the observation table, his eyes never leaving Nori who lay unconscious a few tables down.

"You don't seem phased to see me," Forge arched a holographic eyebrow.

"Very little phases me these days," Madrox replied. "You said you had a plan. If anyone can create something to avoid death-by-bullet, Forge, it's you."

Forge smiled, flickering a bit as he passed a lamppost. "Good to have you back."

"Yeah," Madrox continued to watch Nori. "Thanks."

* * *

Danvers' fists pounded through the gates of Camp Hammond, Spider-Man latching onto her shoulders as she flew through the air. She turned smoothly, effortlessly, various lasers and security measures missing her at every attempt.

"Camp Hammond?!" Parker yelled as she narrowly avoided another laser. "This is insane!"

"Survival always is!" Danvers replied, slamming through the main doors of the camp and swerving through the air to avoid the oncoming bullets from various agents. She flew down the halls with ease, finally making a sharp left and pounding through another set of doors.

"Carol?!" Hank Pym turned.

Ms. Marvel landed in front of him, Spider-Man turning instantly to barricade the door with whatever he could find. He sealed the deal with as much webbing as he could, turning again to find Danvers and Pym staring at one another.

Pym grabbed for a communicator, Danvers knocking it from his hand and ripping off her glove. She quickly grabbed his neck, Hank screaming for a moment and falling to the ground.

Danvers stumbled back into Parker. "Thanks," she muttered. "I don't know how Rogue ever got used to that."

"I'm not sure she did. What are we doing here, Carol?"

Spider-Man didn't need her to answer, though -- Danvers took a few steps forward to the Negative Zone Jumpway The Initiative had been repairing since the group's last attack on the base.

Ms. Marvel helmed the controls with Pym's knowledge, trying her best to tune out Hank's insecurities and fears. "It's set."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as I'm going to be," Carol replied as the door behind them burst open in flame, S.H.I.E.L.D. pouring into the room. Danvers grabbed Spider-Man's wrists and leapt backward into the portal -- the two disappearing instantly.

* * *

**WAKANDA**

Spider-Man slammed into Carol's backside as they fell to the ground on the other end. Parker turned to find that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents had been replaced with Storm's personal guard.

They didn't look happy.

"Who are you?! Speak!"

"Carol Danvers," Ms. Marvel pushed Spider-Man aside. "And Peter Parker. We're here to see Queen Ororo."

"How were you given access to this jump?" the guard trudged forward, raising his gun.

"And more importantly, why didn't we use this 'til now?" Parker looked to Carol.

"It's new," Marvel rolled her eyes. "They were developing it when I left... before things got quite as rocky with Wakanda, to be used only in emergencies... Please, if you'll just let us talk to the Queen..."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Peter," Danvers barked, "shut up."

"It's alright," the doors at the end of the room parted, Storm walking past her guard and toward the duo. "They are allies."

"Ororo," Carol sighed. "Thank God."

"Carol," Storm approached her friend. "What has happened?"

* * *

**NEXT: **_WAR WITH WAKANDA! Could this be the end?! Thanks for the awesome reviews -- they keep it comin'!_


	14. storm

_

* * *

_

Charles Xavier is dead. The X-Men have not assembled in ten years. After Iron Man led a mutant registration campaign, war broke out between man and mutant; there were casualties. Who lived? Who died? Who registered? What happened? The United States is close to WAR with Wakanda, the country's only ruler, Queen Ororo, in opposition with Stark and the U.S. Government. The remaining X-Men wish to make contact with Munroe in hopes to make their agenda her own.  
What happens when they do?

**X-MEN: RESURGENCE  
**_chapter fourteen, conclusion: storm_

* * *

**WAKANDA**

"You did the right thing," Storm led Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man into her chambers. "We are of little use to one another aboard the Helicarrier."

Parker shook his head. "I wish there had been another way. Jen, Gambit, Hank, Vance… Nori. He has them all."

"And we have each other," Storm nodded.

"How are we going to get them out?"

"Everything you told me leads to only one point," Munroe began. "Stark will come to Wakanda."

"And he'll have them with him," Ms. Marvel turned.

"Stark is bringing his army," Storm smiled. "But he's also bringing ours."

* * *

Jennifer Walters pulled her fist back from the door, leaving traces of red against the titanium from her assault.

"How long you gonna do dat, chere?" Gambit asked, pulling himself from the ground.

"As long as it," Jen grunted, "takes!"

Her fists slammed into the same spot, Walters doing her best to hide the pain in her face. She turned, defeated, falling back to the floor beside Hank McCoy.

The Beast said nothing; he didn't have to. It had been seven years since Tony Stark had captured him last -- and afterwards he'd blown up Stark Tower. He'd never felt more like a terrorist... but never less like a hero, either.

"We're gonn' get outta here," Gambit surveyed Walters. "I'm tellin' ya."

"I know," she stood again, ready for round seven. Her fists connected with the titanium yet again, this time Jennifer screaming in pain. She pulled her hand back.

Underneath the blood, her hand was still white.

* * *

Sue Storm stared at her reflection, from the black-lined collar down to the "4" on her chest. She pushed herself away from the mirror, turning and heading to the rooftop.

"What else can I _do _for you people?!" ran through her head. The look in Carol's eyes ran through her head.

Tony Stark's face ran through her head.

Her husband never left her head.

"Tell my children I love them," Sue nodded at one of the robots as she climbed the staircase to the top of The Baxter Building, pulling a tiny remote control from her pocket.

Susan watched the hatch of the small craft flip open as she pressed one of the buttons, sliding the control back into her pocket as she climbed in.

The hatch closed from overhead, The Invisible Woman grabbing at the controls as it fired to life and left the safety of her home, darting into the New York skyline, above it, and into the clouds.

"Wakanda," she said softly, a tiny screen displaying the country's name as well as the heading.

"Here we go," she took a deep breath as her speed tripled.

* * *

The skies around the Helicarrier grew darker the closer it got to Wakanda.

If it was one thing Stark remembered about the country, it was that the only prediction one could make about the weather was that it was unpredictable.

"How's Madrox?"

Forge had appeared in the Director's office several moments ago.

"He's doing well," Forge nodded. "He's rejecting the cure in spirit more than anything else."

"And Surge?"

"Still unconscious."

"What about the others?"

"In their containment cells. They won't be giving us any trouble."

"I've heard those words before," Stark found himself staring at the picture of The Avengers again. Sometimes he felt like he'd never heard the words leaving his lips, though.

"Keep me updated, Forge."

A smile slid across Forge's face, and after a nod, he disappeared again.

* * *

Rogue's boots slammed firmly against the roof of The Baxter Building, quickly making her way to the keypad near the door and entering a few clearance codes. The panel flashed red.

"Damnit, Sue," Rogue said to herself -- but before she had turned completely around she noticed an illuminated monitor to the keypad's left. One of Susan's robots stared back at her.

"Ah'm here t'see Susan."

"Mrs. Richards has already left for the evening, Rogue," a metallic voice called.

"Where'd she go?" Rogue asked, surprised the robot not only knew her name -- but that it was so personable. The life of the fantastic, she mused to herself.

* * *

"…en route to Wakanda as we speak," Susan looked down at the small monitor. "How fast can you fly, Rogue?"

The robot had patched Rogue through to The Invisible Woman's jet.

"Ah'll meet you over the Atlantic. Keep yer phone on."

* * *

Hank McCoy stood for the first time in what felt like days. His joints cracked.

"That sposed t'happen when you're an X-Man?"

"I'm practically an X-Grandfather," McCoy smiled -- again, for the first time in what felt like days. "If we've stopped, I want to know why."

"I'll just page the guard," Jennifer arched an eyebrow.

"No need," The Beast quipped. He took a few steps forward, stopping firmly in front of Vance.

Hank pulled his "X" brief forward, pulling out a thin needle. He lodged it into the metallic piece running across Astrovik's forehead. The device began to smoke before simply popping off.

Justice's eyes went wide.

"Uh?"

"It's the ace up my sleeve, Jennifer," McCoy grinned again. "Or down my pants, rather."

"What in de hell?"

"Didn't they search you?"

"That's the advantage to simply wearing your underwear as a uniform," The Beast slid the needle back into his brief. "You didn't think I've done it all these years for the sake of style, did you?"

"To each their own," Walters shook her head.

"So you've been carryin' around a needle in your underpants?" Gambit looked at him. "No wonder Trish left you."

"Your humor never rests, Gambit," Hank shot him a look. "It isn't a needle -- it emits an electromagnetic pulse. It's Wakandan, as it were."

"And when were you planning on telling us about your pinprick?" Walters glared at his "uniform" with a devious smile.

"I was concentrating," McCoy turned. "Biding my time, running a few calculations… surely, after all these years, you didn't think I was just brooding, did you?"

"Well," Gambit shrugged. "Yeah."

Justice concentrated on the cell door. He took a few steps toward it, concentrating harder and harder. It began to shake, to shimmy…

* * *

Simon Williams, Wonder Man, made his way through the halls of the Detention Center with his eyes on the floor. He thought about Carol, about Tony, about Wakanda, even about The Scarlet Witch.

What a mess all of this had become.

He turned left, effortlessly; he knew these halls too well. And to think, after all this time, he was going to check on three detainees he'd fought with, served with, for years as an Avenger.

"Just a drone now," he mumbled to himself -- falling backwards as the titanium door slammed into the wall with a cloud of smoke a few cells away.

Justice flew into the hall, the Beast leaping out after him -- behind him, Jennifer Walters and Remy LeBeau.

They turned, made eye contact, and lunged the other direction. Wonder Man flew forward, not even thinking to contact anyone else aboard the Helicarrier -- and slammed into a telekinetic wall at full force.

When he woke up he would consider changing his codename.

* * *

Lightning skipped through the dark clouds overhead as Storm, followed closely by her personal guard, made her way to a single podium at the end of a large stage.

Wakandans assembled below her -- various members of the court, of the press, and every citizen the arena could fit.

"The great nation of Wakanda," Ororo wrapped her fingertips around the edges of the silver box, "lives today in a difficult time."

"And yet, we live strong. Stronger than ever before. We do not waiver, we do not bend… People of Wakanda," Munroe continued-- her image spread across the television screens of her citizens as well, "War is nearly upon us. Take heed, but do not fear.

Tony Stark has brought his war to our homeland, but we are strong. T'Challa is with us. The Panther God is with us. I am with you."

Electricity left her eyes as the wind blew across her face.

"We will not fall -- we still stand. And we shall stand victorious. We have spoken of this day, my people, and I urge you not to fear. Remain calm. Our army is strong, and our resolve is stronger. Please, make way to your safe houses; take refuge and take care. I will defend Wakanda's honor -- I will defend _you_."

* * *

"So much for not making any statements," Peter turned away from the television from within the palace. "Should we have been there?"

"And been booed? Have you ever been to Wakanda, Peter?"

"Well," Peter shrugged, "no."

"It took them long enough to accept Ororo," Danvers looked at him. "They're not avid fans of America -- especially after what happened with T'Challa."

Parker thought for a moment. "Carol…"

"Hm?"

"What _did _happen with T'Challa?"

"Why would you ask me that?"

"You were Tony's right-hand woman," Peter watched her face sink. "You had to have been there. I mean, I've heard the speculation, but…"

"It doesn't matter," Danvers replied. "It was a long time ago."

"So were the Avengers," Spider-Man stiffened. "So were the X-Men. But here we are, running around in tights and defending the innocent and all that."

"What happened with Mary Jane?"

"Maybe we should have another glass of Wakanda's finest," Parker ran his hand through his shaggy hair. "I'm feeling a little drunk."

"It was tea, Peter," Danvers smiled.

"I know," Parker shook his head. "What do they put _in _that stuff?"

Ms. Marvel laughed, keeping a mindful eye on any exposed skin of hers as she sat beside her friend. Ororo had loaned her one of her old uniforms.

"It isn't the same," Peter turned back to Mary Jane.

"She died."

Danvers nodded in concerned agreement. She could still see the pain in his eyes.

"So did Tony."

He could see the pain in hers, too.

* * *

**THE HELICARRIER**

The doors to the med-lab burst open, Forge and Madrox turning instantly to find the Beast and Gambit flooding in, Jennifer Walters and Justice behind them.

Forge's eyes went wide before he simply disappeared, the group ignoring it as Madrox charged at them. Telekinetic energy surrounded him, Justice sending the bubble toward the back of the room and straining to hold its integrity as Jamie began to multiply.

"Great idea," one of the dupes moaned as the bubble remained the same size.

"He can't hold it forever," Madrox glared.

The Beast rifled through some cabinets, Walters at his side. "I don't know much about this stuff," she admitted, McCoy remaining silent on the matter.

"We gon' talk about how Forge -- dead Forge -- well, _again dead Forge _-- just up 'n disappeared like dat?" Gambit asked.

"No," Jen and Hank replied in unison, McCoy pulling a vial from one of the cabinets, inserting it into a small gun on the counter, and injecting it into the woman on his right.

Walters smiled as the world went green.

* * *

"They've escaped," Forge appeared in front of Iron Man.

Stark stood, his helmet clicking into place he walked out of his office.

* * *

Ms. Marvel hadn't seen Storm wearing her X-Uniform for years.

"Most of the Wakandan army is stationed around the perimeter of the city," she nodded. "Follow me."

Neither Danvers or Spider-Man hesitated, the two bounding out after the Queen and following her to the War Room.

Various members of Munroe's cabinet were spread along the long table, an image of the approaching Helicarrier hovering above it.

"They will be at the Wakandan Border within ten minutes at their projected rate, my Queen," one of the men said.

Munroe nodded and closed her eyes. Spider-Man watched her intently. Her arms rose slightly, the woman calmer than ever, and then she simply nodded again as her eyes opened and surveyed those gathered before her.

"The guard," Munroe said simply.

"As you commanded," the man replied, "stationed around the perimeter."

"Let us hope we do not need them," she nodded again. "I wish to jeopardize no Wakandan's life.

"Carol," Storm turned. "You will join me in the skies. Spider-Man, my analysts will need to know everything you've learned about Stark's armor, the Helicarrier…"

"Carol would know more about the Helicarrier," Peter looked at her. "I've only been on it a handful of times, and mostly as a prisoner."

The Wakandans in the room looked around disapprovingly.

"Which is precisely why I'll want Carol in the skies with me," Storm acknowledged Danvers' smile. "I've no intention of letting them leave them."

With that, Storm made her way from the room -- Carol behind her.

Parker's eyes went wide as his spider-sense flared, confirming what the radar and the others in the room already knew.

"They're--"

* * *

"--here, Director Stark," Maria Hill turned from the monitor in front of her, Iron Man standing behind her.

The Helicarrier broke through the darkness, jolting a bit from the thunder, lightning and harsh winds.

"Ready everything we've got," Stark turned from her. "We have a few rogue prisoners I'm going to see to."

A S.H.I.E.L.D. member flew into the cockpit, She-Hulk ripping the door from the wall and hurling it across the room and into Iron Man.

"Is that how it's gonna work?" she glared.

Agents in the room ran toward Walters, She-Hulk batting them away until Stark called them off.

"Not in here!"

She-Hulk leapt through the room, slamming hard into Iron Man. The two fell backwards, through the main window, and out into the night sky.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Iron Man screamed, the two plummeting away from the Helicarrier and down toward Wakanda.

She-Hulk's fists slammed into Iron Man's armor -- and she had to admit that she'd missed the way it felt.

Stark grabbed at her wrist, propelling them upward. "You're going to kill us both!"

She-Hulk brought her other hand up, slamming it into Stark's side and sending the two back down. She pulled her legs into the air, the two still falling, and slammed them into Iron Man's chest plate, pushing herself away from him and toward the ground.

Iron Man watched her descend into the dark clouds and below his visual range, stabilizing himself with his thrusters and taking back off toward the Helicarrier.

It shook again in the night sky -- was it night? -- and an explosion rang from the bridge of the vessel. Gambit, Beast and Justice, an unconscious Surge in his arms, flew from Jen's makeshift hole as Iron Man flew back into it.

"DIVERT POWER! KEEP THIS SHIP IN THE AIR!"

* * *

Ms. Marvel grabbed at She-Hulk, Jennifer slamming into her and pulling the two women down and into the ground below. Pavement splintered and flew into the air, and after a moment, both women pulled themselves from the crater.

"Are you insane?!"

"I would've been fine," She-Hulk arched an eyebrow, wiping some blood from her lip.

"You would've been a Hulk-cake!"

Walters stepped back. "Did you really just say that?"

"Enough," Storm approached them, her eyes on the sky. A pink bubble emerged from the clouds, piloted by Justice, each of the men inside screaming something inaudibly.

"What are they," Ms. Marvel began as she left the ground and headed toward them, her eyes growing wide as the realized they were offering a warning: a giant missile right behind them, breaking through the darkness and right on their trail.

Danvers flew forward, around the bubble, and grabbed the missile with a grunt. She spun herself around, launching it back in the other direction. Munroe dissipated the clouds to reveal another onslaught of missiles.

She brought her hands up, the dark clouds shifting and twisting into tornadoes -- they grabbed at the missiles, some exploding immediately while others were carried away.

Storm flew into the air as Justice erected a shield around he, Gambit, Beast and She-Hulk to avoid a straggler.

The wind split around her, it was its duty. The missiles had stopped for the time being, and Ororo could now see the Helicarrier as she continued her trek upwards.

"Ororo!" Carol called from behind her, but Storm did not answer.

Munroe stopped right outside of the Helicarrier.

"**STARK**."

Rain began to pour, Danvers struggling against it as she tried her best to trail Storm.

"**STARK!**"

The Helicarrier sat in limbo.

Aboard it, Iron Man could see the look of terror in most eyes. "Report," Stark acknowledged Maria Hill as she approached.

"Most systems are down, sir," she shook. "It's a miracle we're still in the air… any power that wasn't taken out has been rerouted to ensure we don't crash into Wakanda. Some sort of electro-magnetic pulse, it spread throughout the entire ship slowly… but we've traced its origins to the med-lab, it was internal. We've already fired everything we run manually, we're out of options."

"Electro-magnetic pulse? That's impossible."

"It's Wakandan," Madrox made his way to the bridge beside Wonder Man. "I watched McCoy do it."

A repulsor ray left Iron Man's palm, slamming into a nearby station which exploded immediately.

The Helicarrier shook violently, most agents loosing their footing as Storm called Iron Man's name yet again.

Stark turned, the hole in the bridge now a ready-exit, and couldn't help but note that none of his agents were trying to stop him as he left.

Iron Man blasted away from the lifeless Helicarrier, wondering to himself how long it would stay afloat, and stopped in front of Munroe.

The rain continued to slice through the air, hitting everything but Storm as it made its descent.

"It would appear things are not going as well as planned," Munroe's voice boomed, her eyes glowing white and electricity sizzling about her hands.

"You sabotaged me," Iron Man glared.

"You've no right to be here."

"You should talk to the President."

"He is not mine," thunder leapt from cloud to cloud.

Danvers broke through a cloud beneath them, pulling herself to a stop as her eyes met Stark's armor. "Ororo?"

Munroe remained silent.

"This isn't your fight, Carol," Iron Man pointed at her.

Danvers narrowed her eyes, throwing her fist back but stopping as Storm flew in front of her.

"Stark believes I am unaware that three cloaked mini-carriers have just left his ship, making their way toward the ground," she kept her eyes on Iron Man. "I could feel it in the wind."

"Can you…"

"I'll be fine," Storm nodded. "Alert the others, take care of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Danvers sighed, hesitantly making her way back down.

"It doesn't have to be like this," Iron Man hovered toward her.

"Surely," Storm glared, "you tire of your voice as much as I do."

Stark brought his hands together, two large blasts flying forward at Storm who darted upward to narrowly avoid them.

Lightning left her fingertips, connecting with Stark as she flew up and over him, calling forth the wind to send him through the air and back toward the Helicarrier.

Stark grunted and then pushed himself away from his ship, flying back toward Storm while switching to night vision. He grunted again as hail pounded into his armor.

"You can't hide behind the weather forever, Storm!"

The clouds above him parted, Munroe's cape trailing behind her as she lowered herself toward him, a small tornado descending upon him in all of its fury.

"Know this, Stark!" Storm screamed.

"The weather hides behind _me_!"

* * *

"We've got incoming!" She-Hulk screamed as the three mini-carriers de-cloaked and landed on the ground. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents leapt from the vessels, guns at the ready, and opened fire on the group.

Wonder Man, Madrox, The Wasp and Giant Man were amongst them.

The Beast leapt forward instinctively, his elbow connecting with an agent's face. He grabbed at the gun, turning instantly and letting off a few rounds of laser fire toward the ever-growing Giant Man.

Pym stumbled at the assault, mostly batting it away, until She-Hulk grabbed at his foot, sending him tumbling back to the ground. Pym reverted to his normal size, charging at her until Wonder Man swooped in-between them.

"Don't be an idiot, Pym!" Williams shouted as he sent slammed his fists into Walters. "You can't take her -- focus on Gambit or something!"

LeBeau turned at the sound of his name, She-Hulk and Wonder Man locked in battle. The two exchanged blows like trading cards.

Gambit pulled a rock from the ground, charged it, and launched it toward Pym who'd already turned and began running at him. It exploded in his face, Pym doubling in size for good measure.

LeBeau ran forward, hitting the dirt and sliding between his legs. He turned instantly, his own legs slamming into Pym's. Giant Man hit the ground again, Gambit diving on him. Gambit's fist slammed into his face, Pym's into Gambit's.

A telekinetic bubble surrounded the tiny Wasp, Justice only laughing as he hurled it into the air.

"I'm tired of those things," Madrox's foot connected with Vance's back, the mutant stumbling forward. Jamie pounded his fists into his chest, Justice turning to find ten Madrox's glaring back at him. "Y'know, I never really liked you, Vance."

"That's a shame," Justice glared.

"Truly!" Ms. Marvel descended, grabbing four S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents by their uniforms and hurling them into the air as she landed beside Justice.

"I guess you're cured," Marvel glared at Madrox.

"In more ways than one!" He charged forward.

She-Hulk flew into the Madrox crowd, Jamie multiplying again as Wonder Man landed. "Give up yet?!"

Walters pulled herself up, standing beside Ms. Marvel and Justice. "I dunno," she looked to the two. "Do we, girls?"

Vance glared at her as Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk leapt into the Madrox sea.

* * *

Blast after blast erupted from Iron Man's palms, his chest plate, everything he had, but to no use. If it wasn't thunder, it was lightning. If it wasn't lightning, it was hail. If it wasn't hail, it was ice -- and all in the downpour. He couldn't hit her -- he couldn't even get close. He ignored the screen in front of him -- 'WEAPONS FAILURE' -- and let his rage leave his lips:

"You can't keep this up forever!"

Stark flew backwards and into the Helicarrier, hitting the ground of the control room hard. The vessel shook violently yet again as Storm followed him, landing inside. Agents raised their weapons, Munroe's cape flying forward from the wind behind her -- the same wind which knocked each gun from their grasp.

"If you value your lives," Storm began -- but the agents scattered, leaving only Stark and Munroe.

The rain poured into the Helicarrier, and Stark swore he watched Storm nod as the temperature dropped, the floors and walls freezing. Iron Man pulled his arm from the floor, the ice connecting his armor to the ground snapping and shattering.

Storm walked toward him slowly, the ice melting before either of her heels could touch it. She stopped in front of him, the rain following the wind which soared from behind her, seemed to go _through _her, and then in front of her toward Iron Man.

As it neared him it froze -- and Iron Man found his systems failing. He'd never taken such a beating, fought so many elements at once… he wasn't prepared for it.

His arm fell back again, firmly against the ground, and froze there. He tried rerouting any power to his thrusters -- if only he could melt something…

But it wasn't enough.

Munroe's hair batted forward along with her cape until the wind stopped suddenly. The ship jerked again.

"I can blow this ship up if I have to," Stark spat. "With both of us on it."

"Why have you come here, Stark?"

"I'll take both of us out if I have to, Storm."

"Why. Have you come here."

"I didn't start this."

"I do not wish to kill you," Storm glared down at him. "I will give you one opportunity to withdraw."

Inside of his helmet, Stark's teeth grabbed at a small wire. He pulled it forward.

* * *

"We can't," Danvers grunted as she batted away a few of Madrox, "keep hitting him like this!"

She-Hulk, Justice, The Beast, Gambit and Ms. Marvel found themselves amidst, by Hank's call, sixty versions of Jamie Madrox and one of Giant Man and Wonder Man, respectively.

Pym smiled down at them as his size tripled, pushing back thoughts of Jan -- she was a big girl -- and then his eyes went wide.

The group watched him grab at his throat before he fell atop about twenty of Madrox, flattening them and sending each Jamie into a frenzy.

He wasn't moving.

"Hank?!" Wonder Man flew to his side.

The group was no longer cornered -- Giant Man down, Wonder Man seeing to him, and each Madrox grabbing at their stomach, disoriented.

Ms. Marvel jolted forward as she felt the heat from a small jet from behind her -- and watched the dust on the ground scatter as if one were landing.

"We've got another mini-carrier!"

She-Hulk turned, at the ready, and Gambit and Justice had already begun fighting a few regrouping Madroxes.

The hatch to the cloaked jet flew upward, Rogue sailing out and The Invisible Woman leaping over the side.

Susan glared at the fallen Giant Man.

Carol flew at her; Rogue had already assumed battle beside Gambit. "Susan! I can't believe you're here!"

"I had business to finish with Pym."

* * *

"If I pull it again, we're both dead… and this entire vessel sails down into Wakanda. _That _will be the legacy you leave your people."

Munroe glared down at Stark. The winds ceased and the ice began to melt, Stark ripping his limbs from the ground; pieces of his armor still attached to it.

"Though I have to admit," Tony flexed his fingertips, rubbing at his unarmored arm, "it's more of a legacy than your husband left."

Electricity flew from Storm's hands, from her eyes, into Stark's helmet and all over armor; into the melted ice which surrounded him.

Stark howled as what was left of the armor fused to his skin, and when the smoke cleared, he panted loudly.

His eyes surveyed the destruction around him and then made their way to Storm above. Storm would never know if he was crying from the pain -- or the reality.

The Beast leapt atop Wonder Man, the two rolling to the ground and trading blows. Hank flew back, pulled a gun from an unconscious agent, and fired -- the laser slammed into Wonder Man, creating little more than an annoyance, and he fell back into She-Hulk's arms.

Jen grabbed at each of his wrists and began to run. She spun around, sending Wonder Man flying into the air.

"That's one way to get rid of him," Walters smiled as several Multiple Men leapt atop her.

Rogue smiled at Gambit -- the two locked eyes; it was all they needed to do. But she had a mission.

She sailed through the air, avoiding a few Multiple Men here and there, until meeting up in the center of the chaos with the original James Madrox.

"Good t'see you," he glared at her.

"Sugah," Rogue smiled, pulling the glove from her hand as she walked toward him, "you'll be seein' a lot more'a me in just a minute."

Rogue latched onto his face, grabbing at it again with her other hand, Madrox screaming as she turned away from his fallen body.

She slammed her fist into her chest, another version of her appearing to her left. Each of them did it again -- and again -- and again -- until there were as many version of Rogue as there were of James Madrox.

The group looked dumbfounded.

"Why didn't you think'a that?" Spider-Man landed beside Ms. Marvel. "And thanks for the invite. Stay with the Wakandans, we're just gonna have a chat, blahblahbla--"

"Shut up," Ms. Marvel ignored him, surveying the countless versions of Rogue slamming into the countless versions of Madrox. "Susan," she turned, "we need to get up to the Helicarrier."

Richards nodded, Carol grabbing at her friend and sailing into the sky.

Gambit had stopped fighting. Each Madrox was consumed by each Rogue.

"My God," Beast said from his side.

"…I swear t'God, Hank," Gambit stared blankly at all of the Rogues, "I've had dis dream before."

* * *

Storm flew from the Helicarrier, stopping just in front of it to see Ms. Marvel and The Invisible Woman.

"Fall back!"

But it was all she could say -- The Helicarrier exploding, thousands of pieces scattering into the dark sky -- the three women propelled downward.

Ms. Marvel and Storm grabbed at each of The Invisible Woman's hands. Explosions on top of explosions riddled the sky, the women continuing to fall.

Ms. Marvel grabbed the two women, stabilizing the three of them with her strength.

"Sue, can you--?!"

The Invisible Woman nodded, an invisible shield covering not only the three of them, but the city below as fire erupted all around them.

Storm called forth the winds, the rains -- some of the debris was carried away, some of the fires called to rest.

The three women lowered themselves to the ground beside Beast, Gambit, Justice, She-Hulk, Spider-Man and the Rogues.

The sky was red now, The Invisible Woman grabbing at her head as the invisible shield spun the length of Wakanda's perimeter.

Susan screamed, the shield dropping -- various pieces of the Helicarrier slammed into the ground around them, into Wakandan structures, into the trees.

And it was over.

The rains continued to douse the fires, the ground was covered in defeated Multiple Men, and it was over.

The Beast helped Richards to her craft, The Invisible Woman leaning against it. Storm turned back to gaze at Wakanda. Gambit limped to a group of Rogues, smiling from cheek to cheek.

Spider-Man threw his arm around She-Hulk, Justice ripped the cape from his shoulders and Carol stared blankly into the sky.

It was really over.

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER, WAKANDA**

The doors to the throne room hissed open, Queen Ororo standing at the sudden change in silence. Her gown was full, a soft pink; her headdress lined with various jewels native to only her country.

Ororo stood, walking toward Ms. Marvel, The Beast and She-Hulk.

The three stopped, standing next to one another, Munroe at their opposite. "I'm happy you could come," she surveyed Carol's S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, "Director."

Danvers smiled, running her fingertips along the _DIRECTOR DANVERS _sewn into her chest. "We're going to make the world a better place again, Ororo. The President's official word is that Stark was operating without his authority."

"Stark," Storm thought back to his final day. "He killed himself rather than face the truth of what he'd become."

It was a discussion they'd never had -- and perhaps never would.

"You can count on Wakanda's support for S.H.I.E.L.D.," Munroe looked to Carol, then to She-Hulk, "and for the Avengers."

"And, of course," Storm smiled at the Beast, "for The X-Men."

* * *

_the end.

* * *

_

**_Thanks for the great reviews, I've had a blast, hope you have too!!_**


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